Master Plan
by Wolfnight2012
Summary: Season Two Episode 12. Who dies? Does Allison make her first kill? What happens to Jackson? To Lydia? Can Allison and Scott ever have a future together after this? Probable violence... if I can keep my orignial train off thought and my original idea s
1. A Betrayal

_***Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... an others)**_

_***Authors Note***__Before my computer busted I was looking up Teen Wolf spoilers and I found out that two characters we care about are in danger of dying. My mind began to criss-cross all the possiblities, which characters I would most hate to see die, and which characters had a higher chance of not making it. Then my computer broke down... ='( Anyways, I kept thinking about this. If one or two of my favorite characters had to die, then I decided they should die with dignity, or as heroes/heroines. I've been working on this for a while, the one(s) who died changed alot. But even after I had my story down I was unable to write it and post it here. I didn't get my computer back for seven days, then after I got it back I was so behind on my homework that I spent pretty much my entire days catching up... Now I can finally post it (Yay!) Anyways, my post is, please don't give me grief if some of my stories' details do not match the episodes... I wrote this[in my mind] before watching the episodes 10 and 11. I did fix it up a bit to include some of the episodes details after watching them, but I really wanted to keep my original story, soo.. fair warning to you I'm keeping my original story and pretty much ignoring S2e11 "Battlefield"... Anyways, sorry for the rant-thing. I shall stop now. _

**Prologue**

Derek looked at the ground, feeling the sting of betrayal at Scott's words, "I've done everything you've asked, I joined Derek's pack…" Derek shut his eyes; Scott was working with Gerard… an Argent, the enemy. He'd been betrayed, by the very boy he'd tried to help and keep alive the whole past year. "…you dropped this." Derek opened his eyes, his head hanging, his face shrouded in shadows. Scott trotted away, not noticing Derek standing with his back plastered to the wall, having heard every word. Derek felt the now familiar doubt settle back in its cozy corner inside his mind. He and his pack were hunted by the Argents, in danger of a Kanima attack, and had he had allowed a traitor into his pack. He was failing as his pack's Alpha, and he knew it. He quietly slipped away. The Kanima was gone, as was Matt, Derek could tell from their fading scent. Chris had also taken Allison away. He could leave; he was, after all, not needed.

**Chapter One**

Derek looked at his wolves, his pack, Isaac, Erica, and Boyd, his eyes settling on Isaac, which he trusted more than the others. Isaac could already control himself during a full moon, which was a good sign. Derek paced around the lair, dusting picking up under his shoes. He had to protect his pack, he had to figure out a way to keep them safe, he _Had_ to stop Jackson, and he had to do it without Scott or Stiles, he could no longer trust them. He looked at his pack mates, forcing eye contact with each of them. He told them they could no longer trust Scott, or Stiles. He told them they would be staying in the lair until… until he thought of a plan. He then walked away, "We can't leave the lair at all?" Erica asked, taking a step toward him. He turned to look at her, his eyes cold. "There is danger out there, a lot of danger, I can't protect you, not if I'm not with you" he said. "We can't just say down here, hiding like cowards" Boyd said, stepping forward as well and standing by Eric. Erica crossed her arms defiantly. "What if they find us, won't they be able to surround and trap us?" Isaac added. Derek sighed, looking at the ground. "I'll make sure we have planned escape routes, and a direction to run. We won't be caught off guard, you'll know exactly what to do, and where to go" Derek promised. Isaac nodded, looking at a crack in the ground, not showing his worry. Derek nodded at Isaac, though the boy was no longer looking at him, and then looked at Erica and Boyd who defiantly returned his stare. Derek rolled his eyes and his look lost its intensity, "Fine, you may leave, but be back by sundown. And you must always leave together. You are stronger as a pack so stay with your pack. Where ever you go, either all three of you go, or no one goes" he said. He then turned and walked away, ending the discussion and preventing any further questions or requests.

Derek searched for the Kanima, Matt was dead, he'd been drowned, it wasn't likely that he'd slipped down into the calm water and drowned by himself. Some else had to be controlling the thing now, and he had to find out who. His nostrils flared and his eyes glowed their Alpha red and he set off. He was going back to the police station, where he'd last seen the Kanima, he'd try to track it down, maybe then he could find its new master. It left no scent, but it had to leave prints right? It had to leave a trail… He looked up at the moon, taking note of it's cycle. He hoped the teenagers would stay at the lair, if his orders didn't make them stay, then he hoped fear would. He had to find the Kamina and stop it, he'd been the one to give Jackson the bite, he wouldn't be the Kamina if he hadn't received the bite from Derek himself.

***All reviews/comments very much appreciated! Let me know what you think! =) ***


	2. Exits and Plans

**__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... an others)**

**Chapter Two**

Derek had been unable to track the Kanima, without a scent, and without a trail left behind, the Kamina would find him before he found it. Derek snarled at his helplessness, all his skills, all his power and he couldn't find this one single creature, or destroy it. He stopped in his tracks and glanced up, he could see Scott's window from here. He growled with irritation. Why had Scott done it? Why was he helping them? Was it to impress Allison, to keep her by his side? Had Gerard promised to allow Allison and Scott to be together if Scott helped him? Or had Scott simply decided he didn't want to be on the losing side? Derek's shoulders sagged slightly; he looked at the ground, something very close to defeat in his eyes. He was failing, he was failing as Alpha, he was failing his pack, he was failing to stop the Kanima, and he had failed in keeping Scott away from the Argents. Not only was Scott in love with one of them, he now worked for one as well.

Derek looked back at Scott's window getting an urge to confront him and ask what he was thinking, what Gerard had promised him, why on earth he would work for the ones' whose life purpose it was to kill werewolves. He took a step forward, then quickly bared his teeth at his own stupidity and backed up again. He couldn't let Scott know he'd been overheard; he might just go alert Gerard, the Argents might decide to attack his pack. No, he'd just have to stay away from Scott, he could figure out how to keep his pack safe on his own, he could figure out how to deal with the threat on the Argents on his own as well, and he'd deal with the Kanima on his own as well. He'd been alone for a long time now, now he had a pack, he didn't need or want Scott's help. With that in mind Derek turned and ran back toward his lair.

Derek scoured the land in and around his lair, looking for every possible escape route that was available to his pack; if the Argents came looking for them he wanted to know of every existing way to escape. He glanced up at the moon, eyes going soft, he would never again share a night under the moon with his family, he'd been forced to spend them alone… He forced the thought out, having bigger things to worry about. His conversation with Isaac played in his mind, "If you see them willing to leave, willing to go even without you, I don't care what you're doing you better change your mind and go with them. You are stronger in a pack, and three is better than two" he'd said. Isaac had nodded, following him inside the abandoned train cart. "But, if we are stronger in numbers, then why are you alone all the time?" he asked, there wasn't any true defiance to his words, just curiosity; Derek was gone for long periods of time, and he usually didn't take his pack with him. Derek stopped what he was doing and looked at Isaac, "Because I have more experience than you, because I've been dealing with hunters much longer than you, and because I'm Alpha and I can" he said, walking past Isaac and exiting the cart. "But what happens if _You_ get caught?" Isaac asked, following him out. "I don't get caught" Derek answered, still walking away. "Well… what do we do if _We _get caught?" Isaac asked, walking faster to catch up to him. "Run." Derek said, looking him in the eye, "And call for me, I'll come" he added/promised. Isaac nodded, looked down at the ground with a thoughtful expression on his face. Derek returned to the present and resumed his task, not only did he have to find all the possible ways to escape the lair, and the best ways to evade the hunters once they were out, he also had to decide where they'd go, they had to have a destination, not just the goal of eluding the Argents. He stared off into space; his home, he thought, they'd head for his house…the burnt out shell that used to house his family. Newfound anger surged in him as he remembered… everything. They were all gone, he was the last Hale. They'd taken _everything _from him; well he wouldn't let them take his pack too. They'd head for his house, devise a plan, and then go from there. He wasn't running; if they brought the fight to him then he'd welcome it with firepower of his own. His eyes glowed with anger, he could feel his teeth elongating in anticipation of the battle to come; he _wasn't _running.

**(All comments/reviews are greatly appreciated! I'd love to hear what you think!)**


	3. Hunted

**__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

**Chapter Three**

Erica wrapped her arms around herself, though it wasn't cold. "We should start heading back…" she said, a bit of her worry leaking into her voice. Derek had her scared, she knew there were people and things out there and she knew they wanted to kill her, and those like her. She didn't want to die. She rubbed her arms, and then hurried to catch up with Boyd when she realized he was a few paces in front of her. She grabbed his arm and weaved her arm into his. "Let's go back" she plead, not really caring if she sounded scared or not. Isaac looked at her, then at Boyd, "She's right, Derek said to be back before sundown, he'll be mad if he returns and doesn't find us there" Isaac said. Boyd snorted and rolled his eyes, "What's he going to do? Hide us away in his lair of broken train carts, cracked cement, and dust? Oh wait, he already did that" Boyd said, clearly not happy with their current situation.

Boyd stopped and sighed with frustration, looking up at the sky. "Fine, let's go back" he said, exasperated. He knew of the dangers as well, however, and wasn't as nonchalant as he seemed about the threats. Isaac breathe a sigh of relief, he didn't know what he would have done if Boyd had refused to go back. He wasn't about to leave him alone, he'd all but promised Derek he'd stay with Erica and Boyd, that he'd watch out for them and make sure they didn't do anything stupid, like staying out past curfew. Besides, he couldn't live with himself if something happened to them after he left. He looked up at the darkening sky, even if they ran all the way back they wouldn't make it back before sundown; it was actually like ten-minutes to sundown. He groaned under his breath and looked at his pack mates, "Come on" he said, motioning for them to follow. He was prepared to run the entire way back, they could lie and tell Derek that time had slipped their minds. At a full run they wouldn't be _that_ late. The trio began walking back, Isaac quickened his pace slowly, he wasn't going to tell the other two that they'd be running back, knowing Erica and Boyd they'd complain, and then refuse. He was instead going to increase his pace slowly, they'd follow his lead, he'd soon have then running, all without having to order them to, they weren't all that good with orders.

"What was that?" Boyd asked, caution and worry, if not fear, thick in his voice. "What?" Erica asked, looking around, alert. Isaac scoped the place, ears alert, he didn't hear anything. He already had them going at a jog, now they quickened their pace even more. Boyd's worry affected Erica and both of them jumpy made Isaac edgy. They bunched together, shoulders brushing, the closeness of their pack mates comforting. Erica linked her arm with Boyd's and all three ducked their heads.

_*_Flint*Isaac's head snapped up at the sound, Boyd jumped as an arrow hit the wall next to them, a warning shot, a sign of what was to come. They'd been spotted. "Run!" Isaac shouted, before bolting. Erica and Boyd followed, they were right behind him, the problem was…so were the hunters. Isaac cursed at himself, how could he have been so stupid? He should have paid more attention, he should have been more alert, and he should have paid attention to the sounds, the smells. He growled at himself, of course the hunters were trained in stealth, of course they would be out of sight. He should have known it wouldn't be obvious, just because the coast seemed clear didn't mean it was. He should have been a better look out, he should have looked into the details, he should have-

"Ahg!" Erica cried, an arrow grazing her arm, leaving behind a deep gash. "Don't run in a straight line!" Isaac growled, shoving Erica in a different direction. He himself zigzagged, trying to make sure the arrows didn't find their target, him. A lot of the arrows, however, missed, they landed in the ground, or struck nearby buildings. The hunters seemed to be aiming for something, or perhaps they were just taunting them, enjoying the chase, and their fear. Isaac head for the woods, which wasn't far away, hoping they could lose them there. Before he could turn around to make sure the other two were following him, Boyd snarled, one of the arrows having hit him in the back. He kept running though. Erica saw him, saw the big arrow stuck deep in his back, and quickly changed her direction, sprinting towards him. "No! Split up, don't run smushed together" Isaac warned, feeling very much like Derek. Too late.

Erica grunted, stumbled, and fell to the ground, and arrow lodged in her leg. Isaac now saw, the hunters had been aiming; they'd been trying to incapacitate them. By taking out their legs, or their arms so they wouldn't be able to run or fight. The hunters wanted to capture them, take them alive. Isaac wasn't sure if that was better than being killed on the spot. Boyd stopped, not about to leave Erica, he grabbed her arm, trying to pull her to her feet. Another arrow struck Boyd's hand; he pulled it out, snarling in pain and fury. His eyes glowed, his teeth sharpened, and his nail became claws. He snarled in the direction of their attackers. They weren't impressed, or frightened, for another round of arrows came flying. Two hit their mark, sinking into Boyd's leg, it gave way, and he fell onto one knee. The hunters walked forward, coming into view. Isaac began to run toward his pack mates, he knew he couldn't get them both out of here, but he had to help. "No!" Erica said. "Run" she added, "RUN!" There was desperation in her voice. Isaac stopped cold, understanding dawning on him, the hunters might have not seen him yet, the hunters had not struck him yet, he could get away, he could get help… he could get "Derek" he said softly. Erica nodded and Boyd looked at Isaac solemnly, both having heard him. Isaac nodded, he began to back up, eyes on his fallen pack mates. His breathing quickened, he was their last hope now. He had to run…he had to get Derek. Derek would know what to do, Derek would be able to track them, he knew how to find and follow scents, Derek could help, Derek could save them. Isaac turned around and bolted, running as if his life depended on it, adrenaline and fear fueling his muscles.

Boyd watched Isaac go and disappear into the darkness of the forest; he wrapped his arm around Erica, trying to help her to her feet, though his own legs couldn't hold him up, the arrows too painful for him to even attempt to pull them out. The hunters came into view, carrying bows and crossbows, that smug look on their faces. Boyd snarled, warning them back, he placed his arm in front of Erica in a protective manner and barred his teeth, a wolf's last attempt to get his attackers to leave him and his pack mate alone. It failed, however, the hunters weren't intimidated by an injured werewolf's aggressiveness; they knew it was just a feeble attempt to cover up his vulnerability, and the extent of his injuries. He heard Erica's breath quicken with fear, she grabbed his arm. He wished he could protect her; that he could take away her fear, but he couldn't. He couldn't do anything, but crouch here like a useless idiot and wait for their fate, whatever the hunters decided it would be. One of the hunters stopped a couple of feet in front of him, Boyd spat, hatred and rage in his eyes.

Isaac raced back to the lair, he felt as if he were practically flying over the ground, he also felt slightly detached from his body; his mind was barely coping with the situation he'd been shoved into. He ran with only one thought in his mind, to get to Derek, and get to him fast. He should have learned from his mistakes. He should have tested the air, paid attention to the sounds, noises, and rustles. He shouldn't have run in a straight line… But he was too absorbed by his task, by the fact that his pack mates lives might very well rest on his shoulders. He was an easy target; he couldn't have made it simpler for the hunters. *Flint* Isaac's eyes widened, as his ears picked up the sound of a flying arrow. He wasn't able to react, a second after his preoccupied mind picked up the sound, the arrow hit his leg, sinking in and sprouting at the other end.

Isaac stumbled, pitched forward, and fell face down on the ground, sliding for a few feet. He groaned and picked himself up into a sitting position. He looked at his leg and at the arrow; it was lodged in his knee, a crippling wound. He grabbed it and pulled, "Argh!" he growled as pain shot up and down his leg. He winced, shutting his eyes tight and grinding his teeth together. He couldn't do it, he couldn't pull it out, it hurt too much. He pulled himself up straighter, though he was still sitting down, he couldn't stand up. He glanced in the direction the arrow had come from, trying to spot the hunters. He'd failed, he'd gotten caught. Derek wouldn't know what had happened, even if he suspected foul play in their disappearance he wouldn't know where to start looking, or even if he was supposed to blame the Kanima or the Argents. Isaac shut his eyes, guilt flooding over him. He heard a twig snap, leaves rustling. Two hunters appeared, their weapons carried lazily, they knew he wasn't going anywhere. Isaac glared at them. He couldn't let this happen, he had to do something. They stepped closer and he growled a warning, it rang out, loud and strong, giving Isaac an idea. The hunters kept coming; Isaac took a deep breath and let out a loud, vicious howl that sounded more like a snarl. The hunters slowed slightly, eyeing the crazy and noisy werewolf warily. Isaac hoped they thought his howl was just a warning snarl, and not a distress call. He glared defiantly at them, claws out; as they got closer and aimed their weapons, he bared his fangs.

Derek hurried back to his lair, it was past sundown; it was, in fact, dark out. He quickened his pace; he didn't want to give his pack another reason to act rebellious. He could hear them now, they'd ask things like "Why don't you have to return at the same time we do" or perhaps something like, "Why do you get so stay out more and go out farther while we're stuck here in the lair." It wasn't possible that they didn't see their own inexperience. They couldn't survive like he could; they weren't used to scanning their surroundings for danger, paying attention to the tiny rustles or changes in the scents carried by the breeze. They still had a lot to learn, he had to teach them at a quicker rate…he couldn't allow them to be caught unprepared. His head snapped up at a ferocious and desperate howl that rang out, echoing through the forest. He was instantly ready to fight, his ears working to pin-point the direction it came from. This wasn't just any howl; it was a call for help, the last act of a desperate and possibly cornered werewolf. He recognized the howl at the same time he pin-pointed the direction it came from. Gazing up at the moon, his eyes glowed their Alpha red. Not again, he thought, not this time… "Isaac" he growled, his claws growing, his teeth sharpening. His pack was in trouble….

**I love to hear what you think! Comments and reviews appreciated! =)**


	4. The Heroes Are On Their Way

******__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

**Chapter Four**

Stiles kept talking, he was pretty sure Scott wasn't listening, and he was pretty sure he was just speaking nonsense, but he couldn't stop. Ever since the incident at the police station, ever since he saw Matt pointing a gun at his father, he'd been edgy, jumpy, tense, and stressed out. He needed an outlet for all these emotions, and ranting about non-import things seemed like the best way to do it. He'd once spend fifteen minutes ranting about how his computer had frozen, and how he needed a new one, though his computer had only frozen once, and it had been his fault. He understood Scott had his own problems, such as his mother having seen him wolfed out and all…. Plus there was Allison. Allison hadn't spoken to him since Lydia's party, when her mom had died. Stiles' talking picked up speed as he realized this pointless conversation wasn't doing its job, he was still thinking. He didn't want to think. He didn't want to think about how hard all this was becoming, how out of their league he and Scott were, how people kept dyeing. How his dad had pretty much been dragged in the middle of this…how-

Stiles slowed down, then stopped completely. He looked back at Scott, who was standing very still, staring off toward something he could not see, his eyes glazed over. "Scott?" Stiles called his friend. He walked back over to him. "Scott?" he asked again, he waved his hand in front of his best friend's face, then snapped his fingers a few times. Scott blinked his eyes a couple of times and gave Stiles an 'intense' stare. "Shhhh!" he scolded, before going back to his statue-like state. Stiles looked at Scott quizzically, wondering what was up with him. "Scott?" he asked, shaking his friend by the shoulders. "Stiles, be quiet!" Scott hissed, "I can't hear!" he added, before walking a few slow steps forward and 'listening' again, which to Stiles just meant his friend had gone back to being a statue. Stiles looked at Scott, and then walked up to where he now stood. He leaned over and listened. Nothing. There was only silence, not even a cat mewing from somewhere within the shadows night provided. He closed his eyes and listened with his all might. Nothing! He raised an eyebrow, "Um, Scott… buddy, mind telling me what we're listening to?" he asked, walking over to stand in front of Scott.

Scott closed his eyes, the sound fading away until it was too faint for even his ears to pick up. He opened his eyes, Stiles was just a couple of inches from his face. Scott jumped back, "Stiles! What the hell are you doing?" he asked, looking at his friend with a confused and annoyed expression. Stiles' eyes widened as if in disbelieve. "What the hell am I- What the hell were _you_ doing? You totally zoned out on me, it looked like you were in a trace!" Stiles said, gesturing with his arms and hands by waving them wildly and his voice rising to a higher pitch. "Shh, keep your voice down" Scott said, taking a few steps closer to his friend. Stiles closed his mouth, pressing his lips together in annoyance, though the next time he talked it was quieter. "So, what were you doing?" he asked. "Listening" Scott said. Stiles sighed in exasperation; he didn't like one word answers. "I think I gathered that, what was it? What were you listening to?" he asked.

"A cry for help" Scott replied, looking very solemn. Stiles eyes widened, "What?" he asked in a very low voice. He cleared his throat, "A cry for help? From what?" he asked. "I don't know, I don't know whats happening, I just know it was from… it was from a werewolf" Scott responded. "A were- a werewolf?" Stiles said, "Is it… was it Derek?" he asked. Scott shook his head, looking out into the distance, "No, I'd have recognized him. But it was a werewolf, Stiles. I heard a werewolf crying for help" he said, his voice grave. Stiles swallowed and placed his hand on his friend's shoulder. "We have to go help" Scott said softly. Stiles stared at his best friend, then slowly took his hand away, "Why, Scott? Why do we have to help?" he asked. He placed his hand on Scott's shoulder again and turned him around, forcing him to look at him. "For all we know the Argents are capturing the werewolf, Allison might be there… Can you really fight Allison? Can you really watch her kil-" Stiles cut off mid-sentence when Scott shrugged his hand off roughly, "She's not going to kill anyone" he growled, "She wouldn't" he added, taking a step back away from Stiles, something close to anger in his eyes.

Stiles took in a breath, but deciding to say nothing, let out his breath and closed his eyes. "Okay Scott" he said slowly, "But you don't have to help, why would you go place yourself in the middle of someone else's squabble?" he asked. "Because, because he called out for help" Scott answered. "He cried out for help Stiles, this isn't a werewolf having a grudge match, its someone who's cornered, outnumbered, or trapped. Its someone who doesn't want to deal with it alone, or can't. Stiles, this person is scared, and he called for help. I heard him; I can't just walk on when I could be his only chance" he continued, his voice filled with emotion. He still remembered, he could still see Gerard cutting the poor, pleading omega in half when he had done nothing wrong. He couldn't let that happen to anyone else, not if he could help it. "I'm going" he said with finality.

Stiles looked at him and sighed, "Okay fine, let's just go back to my house; we'll take my Jeep there…" Stiles trailed off as Scott faced the distance ahead of him. He closed his eyes, when he reopened them they glowed a yellowish color. "You go, I'll see you there" he said, flashing him a slow, fang-filled smile. With that Scott took off, sprinting off toward what Stiles could only guess was the direction the howl had come from. "What? Wait! Scott? Scott?!" Stiles called after his friend, who didn't look back. "Meet you there? …. I don't even know where _there_ is…" Stiles muttered to himself. "Gahhhh" he grumbled, throwing his arms down in frustration, the back of his hands slapping his thighs in the process. He stared in the direction that Scott was heading, then turned away and began to head home once more. He'd get his Jeep, head in the direction Scott had, and then go from there. He really hoped Scott picked up his cell.

Derek roared in frustration, glaring angrily at the sky, venting out his anger but not being loud enough for the sound to carry far. 'Why?!' he snarled, glaring at the ever present moon. He looked at the scene he'd just arrived to, turning around and around, to the left and to right, getting angrier after every shifting movement. He breathe in and out, his breathing heavy, he was nearly panting from his run. He'd still arrived too late, they were gone. The scene didn't provide many visual clues, but the scents made his blood boil. He could smell Isaac; he could smell his blood, his fear, his desperation. He could smell the hunters… They'd taken them… They'd taken them all… Derek closed his eyes and bowed his head as his self-loathing hit him like a pile of bricks. He'd done it, he'd failed his pack completely, he'd allowed them to be captured by the Argents! He flashed his teeth at nothing in particular and took a swipe at a near by tree, leaving behind five deep gashes in it's trunk. He snarled with frustration; wanting to fight, wanting to tear someone apart, but being alone… 'That's right' he thought, 'You're alone now, completely and utterly alone.' Derek spat, pulling himself out of the hole of desperation he was digging. He was going to get them back; he _had _to get them back. Dried leaves rustled as someone stepped on them, such a soft sound, but Derek snarled, baring his fangs at whoever was intruding this moment in which he felt so vulnerable.

Stiles rushed back to his house, reaching it rather quickly, which made him a little proud. He burst through the door, skidding to a stop and grabbing the door frame to keep from sliding or falling down. He looked around for his keys, found them and grabbed them quickly. Not wanting his dad to see him and ask any questions he ran back out to his Jeep. He hopped in, slammed the door, put on his seat belt, turned on the engine and then just sat there. He gripped the steering wheel; he had no idea which way Scott had gone…he didn't know where to start looking for him either. He tightened his grip on the wheel, then backed up into the road and drove off. Grabbing his cell, he dialed Scott's hoping he'd pick up. Meanwhile he was left with no choice but to drive back to where Scott had first hear the howl and head off in the direction he'd run off to. "Come on Scott, pick up, Pick Up!" Stiles muttered into the phone, before shutting it and chucking it to the empty seat beside him.

Scott ran in the direction he'd heard the howl, it would have been much easier if the werewolf had kept howling, that way he could have followed the actual sound, and not just a memory of it. He hoped he was still going in the right direction and ran faster, hoping he wouldn't be too late. It took him a while to realize he was running toward the forest. He slowed down once in the forest, treading with care, not wanting to alert who ever might be out there of his presence. He heard a soft-ish roar and looked up in its direction. He slowly walked forward, wanting to make sure he wasn't spotted first. His phone vibrated as he stepped down on some leaves, and heard a ferocious snarl in response. Ignoring his phone he walked forward some more and he saw Derek crouching down defensively, eyes glowing red, fangs bared, and claws out. "Derek?" he called out, seeing the young Alpha blink, recognition flooding into his eyes, then straighten up.

"What are you doing here?" Scott asked, coming closer. Derek glared at him as he got closer, though that didn't bother him, Derek always looked serious, or leaning toward angry, it wasn't like he expected to be greeted with a warm 'hello.' "The real question is, what are _you _doing here Scott?" Derek asked in a rather suspicious voice. Scott stopped advancing, and stared at him, wondering what was up. "I heard a howl, er, a call for help" Scott replied, blinking confusedly. Why was Derek looking at him like that? "Was it you?" he asked hesitantly, knowing very well he would have recognized the howl had it been Derek's. "No" Derek answered curtly, still looking rather hostile; he walked around Scott, stopping halfway and looking toward the empty forest. 'What's up with him?' Scott wondered. "You should go Scott" Derek said quietly, before Scott could ask what was up with him. His phone vibrated again, but he ignored it. "Why? Do you know who it was? Was it Boyd? Isaac? Are they hurt? Derek, I can help. Just tell me-" Scott began, being cut off when Derek whirled around to face him, his expression one of anger. "I don't need your _'help'_ Scott" Derek said with a spat, hatred leaking into his voice. Scott reeled back with surprise, not knowing where this was coming from, and not understanding it either. "Derek, what" Scott tried to speak, but was cut off again. "Just go home Scott" Derek ordered. "I can help Derek. And if Isaac, or Boyd, or Erica is in trouble then I _need_ to help! Derek, just tell me what's happening, I can handle it" Scott reasoned. Derek bared it fangs, "Just drop it Scott!" he hissed. Scott straightened up, he didn't understand what was wrong, but he was getting angry at the tone Derek was taking. "What is your problem? I just want to help, and I _can_ help, why won't you just tell me what's going on?" he asked. "It's _my_ pack, it's _my_ problem, _I _can deal with it however _I _see fit, and I choose to deal with it without your help!" Derek replied. "But _I _can help! Why are you acting like this?!" Scott growled back, getting madder. "As I sad, I don't need your 'help', and I don't want it" Derek retorted. "Go home Scott… And drop it" Derek said before turning around and sprinting away.

Scott stood in the forest by himself, staring at the space Derek had occupied, though he was long out of sight now. His phone vibrated yet again. Scott fished for it in his pocket, seeing it was Stiles he answered it. No sooner had it put it to his ear did he hear Stiles' yelling on the other side, not even having time to say a greeting. "Sheesh Stiles lower the volume" Scott grumbled. "Where are you?! I've already called you like two times. If you hadn't noticed, I don't have super wolfy hearing. I don't know the direction the howl, came from, or where you ran off to for that matter" Stiles' voice rushed though the phone. "Slow down, I'm near the edge of the Beacon Hills Preserve." Scott answered wearily. "Okay, I'm coming" Stiles replied. There was a pause, then Stiles voice came through again, "So Scott… What happened?" Stiles asked. Scott took in a deep breath and looked around the forest. "Scott?" Stiles called into the phone. "I… I don't know…" Scott answered truthfully.

Derek followed the trail Isaac had run while fleeing. He'd found where he'd fallen; now he had to find the other two. The scent was easy to track, it was fresh… and Isaac had been running in a straight line. Derek found Isaac had not made it far, he scented Boyd's and Erica's blood, finding where they had been captured. They had been mere feet from the forest. Derek squatted down, it seemed Erica and Boyd had fallen together. He breathe in deeply, he could scent them, and the hunters that had caught them. He straightened up and walked around the area, picking up the scent of a few more hunters. He stopped and stood still once he was satisfied that he had picked up the scent of all the hunters involved in the capture of his pack mates. He could track them now, any one of them. He'd find where they were stashing his pack and he'd break them out. It was the only option available. He glanced up at the moon, hoping he wasn't too late this time too. He'd seen what Gerard had done to the pleading omega, cutting it in half even when he swore he hadn't killed anyone. All bets were off and Derek could only hope that his pack mates had been taken alive.

"Maybe he was just having a bad day…" Stiles said, glancing at Scott before returning his eyes to the road. He'd picked up Scott at the edge of the Beacon Hills Preserve and they were now heading home. "Or maybe…maybe he's worried and doesn't want to let it show..." Stiles continued his list of theories. Scott had told him everything, and Stiles hadn't hesitated to chip in. "Or maybe…" he started again. "No Stiles, enough!" Scott said, taking his frustration out on his friend. Stiles quieted, gluing his eyes on the road. "Sorry" Scott apologized, "But you didn't see him, he looked angry… Like, _really_ angry… at me… like I had something to do with their disappearance, or something." Stiles pressed his lips into a thin line, "Well, maybe he really is worried, and you being the first person to come along and all, he took out all his frustration at having his pack being captured on you. It must not be easy to have your entire pack taken and not having been able to do anything about it…" Scott looked at his best friend, that kinda made sense. "Or maybe he's just a big ol jerk" Stiles added a second later. Scott chuckled, but wasn't able to offer a complete laugh. His lips pulled up into a half smile, but it quickly faded away as he wondered what had happened to the three teenagers that consisted of Derek's pack. Did the Argent's have them? If so, where were they hiding them? What were they doing to them?

***This is coming along quickly, isn't it? What do you guys think of it so far? Let me know in the comments/reviews. =) ***


	5. He'll Come

******__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

**Chapter Five**

Allison paced back and forth in the room as her father and another hunter argued over what to do with the werewolves they'd captured and how to lure Derek in. Allison was wondering the same thing, and was listening in to the adult's conversation at the same time. "…the question still remains, 'Will he come?'" her father said. Allison stopped walking, "Yes, he will" she said with absolute certainty, she'd seen enough of Derek to know he'd come running to help, in moments like this… he didn't think, he just _did_. Like when the Kanima was spotted at Scott's house, Derek had raced after it without a second thought. "But he's also not stupid, he won't just barge in here, he knows he'll get caught that way" she added, looking at her father. "So what do you suppose we do?" the other hunter asked, Allison had not yet learned his name. "If we stay here, and Derek is cautious enough to keep his distance, then we captured those two for nothing" he continued. Allison gave him an emotionless stare, she briefly wondered if the two werewolves could hear them talking, she knew they had excellent hearing. "We take the fight to him" she decided, standing up straighter to put authority behind her decision. Her father stepped toward her, "What do you mean?" he asked, looking for clarification to her vague response. She turned to face him, looking him right in the eye. "We take them to his house. He won't be able to help himself; that will hit to close to home" Allison said, giving her father a humorless smile. "He'll know it's a trap" the other hunter said. Allison nodded, "He'll smell it from a mile away, but he won't be able to stop himself when he realizes we're holding his pack in the ruins of his home. Add to that the fact that he'll feel more confident while in his own territory… and we have ourselves a Derek Hale" she explained. "Isn't he right to feel cocky? He'll be at home in the forest" the hunter noted. "Yes, but we'll have the place surrounded, this is a trap after all, we'll be prepared, we'll be waiting; he won't get close enough to his pack to help them" she said. Her father looked down, thinking. "He'll quickly track us to them. We should get going, I want to wrap this up before dawn" Allison added, walking past her father to pick up her bow.

Derek followed the fairly easy trail the hunters had left and his own pack mates' scents across town. There was certain anxiousness to his movements, he felt edgy, and looked a bit distracted. He had to find his pack mates, and he had to find them now. He wanted to run, but knew his chances of picking up the correct scent were slimmer if he took rushed. He bristled, wondering what the Argents would want from his pack, a trio of teenagers who still went to high school. Derek followed the scents to the hunters' vehicles. Here he stopped and looked around, vehicles made it trickier to track, but not impossible. Even bloodhounds could do it. He sniffed around the area the vehicles had been parked before setting off, now certain he had the smell memorized. He increased his speed, until he was running, his instincts taking over.

Derek slowed down, he knew where the trail headed, he could see it from here. It was a run down, shabby, one story building, it had probably been a house once. Derek crouched down, on high alert, and proceeded with caution, creeping forward. He looked around, trying to listen for voices, footsteps, or anything that might notify him of an approaching hunter. There were no vehicles in sight, of course. If he followed its trail he'd probably find it several yards away. His pack had most likely been unloaded at the building door, then the vehicle had been parked somewhere else. He knew his pack was in the building, he could smell them. Assured that no one was around, and that he hadn't been spotted, he made his way toward the house. He circled it a few times. Confused, he circled it again, paying close attention to the scents. They were faint, his pack was no longer inside, it was empty. Derek narrowed his eyes in concentration; they couldn't have been here for more than a few minutes…. Why bring them here just to take them somewhere else a couple minutes later? He crouched down, completely stilled, and listened… to nothing. The building truly was empty. "Agh!" Derek growled, punching the wall he crouched by. Standing up he walked along the wall until he came to a broken window, he pushed the shards of glass down and crawled through it. Empty. Smells didn't lie, Derek walked around the empty house, 'And neither do sights' he thought, seeing the building was completely abandoned. It was even crappier inside. The scents were fresh; they couldn't have left more than ten minutes ago. Derek snarled at no one in particular, he did not like being the one who was a step behind. He also didn't like the feeling he got when he realized he'd been just a few minutes too late. He walked out of the house, using the door, the only thought in his mind was the ever unhelpful 'Now what?' He looked up at the moon and closed his eyes, remembering, he could almost hear their laughter, smell the scent of his home filled with his entire family there… He breathe in deeply and, accidentally, caught a whiff of the vehicle again. He perked up immediately and followed it for a few feet. He'd found the vehicle's retreating scent… He'd gotten confused, as it followed the same path it had when heading for the building. He now picked up the distinct scents, he'd follow the fresher one, and it'd lead him straight to his pack. He began to run, he wouldn't be too late, not this time, he was catching up to them before they moved his pack again!

"We have to go back" Scott said, eyes on the dashboard. Stiles looked at his friend with a look of exasperation. They'd arrived at Scott's house, but Scott hadn't gotten out of the jeep. He'd just stared at his dashboard, deep in thought. Stiles sighed, he should have known… Nothing good came out of Scott thinking. "Scott, no" Stiles began. "You heard Derek, he doesn't want our help, and he made that _very_ clear" he said. He kept his hands on the steering wheel, knowing very well how this would end. "I _Don't _need his _permission_, Stiles!" Scott yelled, turning to face him. "No, you don't" Stiles replied, shrugging and pressing his lips into an exaggerated frown. "It's just... how would you feel if you knew you could help, but didn't?" Scott asked his friend to understand. "Uh… like I feel right now...?" Stiles replied. "You know what I mean..." Scott said, giving his friend a small shove, then becoming serious again. "Yeah, I do… It's okay Scott, we're going" Stiles apologized/promised, before backing out into the road again. He didn't really have anything against helping; Stiles agreed with Scott, if they could help, they should. It was just that… he felt Derek had given them a free pass on _this _fight. They'd already been through so much… didn't they deserve a break? Why did they have to participate in _every_ battle?

**(Slightly shorter chapter, though my chapters aren't really all that long, hope you guys like!)**


	6. It's All Coming Together

******__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

**Chapter Six**

"Yes, we got them, no we're moving them. That's right, to his house. Meet us there? Okay, see you there Grandpa" Allison said, before cutting off to bark directions. "Take this turn, right here, yes. I want to get there as soon as possible; we have to make sure we get there well before Derek." They were headed toward Derek's house with three unconscious werewolves in the back of their van, chained and gagged. She didn't want them warning Derek if they were to wake. Her dad had ordered the arrows to be pulled out, which meant they were healing at this very moment, if they hadn't finished already. She wanted them at Derek's house before they woke up and tried to break free, they might not be able to break their shackles, but they could probably break out of the van, causing a scene in the town.

Derek raced after the vehicle containing his pack. The trail was pretty straight forward, it's not like they were making a lot of unnecessary twists and turns. Either they were truly in a hurry, or they didn't think he was following them… or they wanted him to. Derek's eyes narrowed, knowing this could very well be a trap set up to catch him, probably was. He didn't care; however, he could take whatever those hunters threw at him. He was getting his pack out, tonight. Then he'd show the Argents he wasn't someone to be messed with. His nostrils flared as he tasted the air to make sure he was still on the right track. His eyes widened when he recognized the trail, as he realized where he had been heading all along… They were going to his home… They just couldn't leave him alone could they? Killing his entire family there hadn't been enough, Kate trapping, and torturing him there hadn't been good enough, now they were going to take his pack down there as well. 'Fat chance' he thought, snarling, as he pushed himself harder, running full speed toward his home, no longer caring about the trail, he knew of a quicker way anyways. He raced on, as the full moon lit his path.

Gerard snapped his phone shut, and put both hands on the steering wheel. Of course he was going to meet his granddaughter at Derek's house, but he was bringing a friend. He smiled a nasty smile to no one in particular. Derek wasn't getting out of this one, not this time. He had the Kanima, and he was going to use it. It was going to use it to kill Derek for him, once and for all. Then maybe he'd have the creature do off Derek's little pack of misfits and outcasts, unless he felt like doing it himself. He shifted his grip on the steering wheel, willing the Kanima to come, though not to kill Derek yet. He wanted to be there, if he wasn't able to do it himself, the next best thing was to simply enjoy it while someone else did it.

Peter leaned on a tree in the forest, willing his strength to return. Of course it didn't listen. Coming back to life was a very exhausting process, and he was still very weak, though not as much as he had been before. He needed power, and, until he could fully regain his strength, he needed the Kanima. He'd seen Gerard take it, but he'd already called dips…which meant he'd have to kill Gerard, for taking what was rightfully his. He'd have to do it fast, while the Kanima was near, but not near enough to kill Peter himself once Gerard saw him coming. He didn't feel like dying again. Poor old fool, wanting to avenge his psychopath of a daughter's death. Well, Peter wanted to avenge his family's deaths as well, he'd already killed the one responsible, now he'd get to kill the man whose fault it was that she was born in the first place. And then he'd have to kill those who'd killed him.

"Can you really track Derek?" Stiles asked. "Of course I can Stiles! I just have to pick up his scent in the forest and follow it" Scott said. "You make it sound so easy" Stiles grumbled. He was silent for a moment, "Then what? You're going to take off in werewolf mode, and I'm going to be stuck sitting in the car" he complained. "You can follow me in the car, just be sure not to run me over" Scott said, a small laugh escaping his lips. "And what happened when we find Derek?" Stiles asked. "What about it?" Scott replied. He shrugged, "I don't know, he just… he won't be too happy to find us there… is all" he said after a moment. "Well tough! We're helping, he can't just act all 'Badass werewolf' not when lives might be in danger" Scott said, "We're going, we're staying, and we're helping. If he doesn't like it… well then tough" Scott repeated. "Dully noted" was all Stiles replied, hands twitching and tightening on the wheel.

Lydia drummed her fingers on the steering wheel; she was stopped in a corner, heading home. Allison wasn't answering her texts, she hadn't heard of Jackson since her party, and she had no one to hang out with. She sighed and let her head fall back on her seats headrest. She looked back toward the road in time to see a van drive by, Allison riding shot gun, and talking on the phone. She watched them drive by, turning her neck to see them turn left in the corner behind her, disappearing from view. "Huh" Lydia said, wondering where Allison was going. Realizing she'd been at this stop sign far too long, she eased her foot of the brake and accelerated. She drove on, a bored expression on her face, she briefly wondered if whatever Allison was doing was more exciting than what she was doing, which was nothing. She thought about turning around and following Allison, just to see what she was up to, but she quickly pushed that thought away. Lydia wasn't a follower! If Allison didn't want to answer her texts, then that was fine by her. She returned her attention to the rode.

Lydia squinted at the unmistakable jeep heading in her direction. She slowed down, able to see Scott and Stiles arguing through the windshield. They drove right past her, a curiosity unlike anything she'd ever felt compelled her to follow them. She tightened her grip on the steering wheel, 'No!' that was the most ridiculous thought she'd ever had. She didn't care what they were doing, and she most certainly wasn't going to follow them to find out! Still, she slowed to a stop and watched their vehicle though her rearview mirror. It seemed they would disappear into the distance, when they turned left at the same corner Allison had. 'That does it' Lydia thought, they were obviously heading in the same direction, about to do something they all knew about, except her. She was always kept in the dark about what was happening, and she didn't like it. As a matter of fact, she was getting quite tired of it. She deserved to know what was going on as much as anyone else. Mind made up, she turned her own car around and head in the same direction as Scott and Stiles had. She was a bit behind, and hoped they hadn't made another quick turn; she didn't want to lose them, though she also didn't want to drive close enough to be spotted, that would be humiliating.

Stiles drummed his hands on his steering wheel as he waited, as he had predicted, in the car… He was parked at the side of the road, waiting for Scott to come back. Scott had gone to sniff for Derek where he'd last seen him, somewhere in the forest. Stiles sighed in a bored manner, his head bobbing up and down to a nonexistent rhythm. He jumped when Scott slammed into the side door, then remembered to open it first, and hopped inside, slamming the door behind him. He was breathing hard, evidence that he'd run all the way back. Stiles waited a moment for him to catch his breath, became impatient and just blurted out, "So?" Scott nodded, "I got it, and I also got a pretty good direction of which way he was heading as well." Stiles frowned, "Don't you have to stay outside to follow it?" he asked. Scott shook his head, turning to look at him, "No, it's nearby, I know exactly which way he went" Scott said. "Fine, which way?" he asked. Scott pointed and Stiles turned the engine back on and eased the jeep onto the road.

Scott sniffed around, literally sniffed, crouching down so his face was closer to the ground. He'd left Stiles back in the jeep, again. He noticed he'd gotten out and was now leaning on the hood of his car, a bored expression on his face. He concentrated on the task as hand, he could smell Derek, he'd been here, and recently. Now he just had to find out which way he'd gone; he had to pick up his trail..."Yay done yet?" Stiles called out. Scott didn't get irritated, he knew his friend was only truly upset because he couldn't help, he probably felt like dead-weight, unable to do anything escape wait for help, or for people to finish what they were doing as he was right now. "Almost…" Scott said, he followed Derek's scent around and around, the guy sure moved a lot. Couldn't he stay in one place, decide which direction he was going to go, then go; instead of circling the same area twenty times? Scott finally picked up a trail leading away; he followed it for a bit, then stopped and straightened up. "Got it" he said, more to himself than to Stiles. "Okay, good, let's go" Stiles said, hopping back in his car. Scott backed up, and got in the jeep as well. "Which way?" Stiles asked, turning on the engine.

"What do you mean he's gone?!" Stiles cried, followed Scott as he roamed around the house, looking very much like a bloodhound as he searched for Derek's scent once more. "I mean he's not here Stiles!" Scott yelled back. Stiles scowled, "So we followed his trail all the way over here, just to find he moved again. Where is he going? Why'd he leave as soon as he reached this place?" Stiles asked. "What is this place anyways, an abandoned house? Why'd he want to come here? It's clearly been empty for a long time." he added. "I don't know Stiles, I can't read his mind; I just followed his scent here. I know no more than you do" Scott said, sounding very frustrated. "Great! This is just a wild goose chase… My dad will get worried Scott, and so will your mom… We'll be getting a lot of explaining to do tomorrow" Stiles said. Scott just grunted in reply, still crouched down and sniffing. He followed the scent to a window and crawled through it. "Hey! Scott! What are you doing?" Stiles called after him as Scott disappeared inside. He sighed, then followed him into the house, stepping carefully over the broken glass. "He was in here" he heard Scott say. He followed the sound of his voice, finding his friend circling the ground, still trying to pick up Derek's trail. "It ends here man…Scott? Scott! Come on, let's just go home. We lost his trail, and I doubt we'll find Derek by just randomly looking through town" Stiles reasoned, walking over and placing his hand on Scott's shoulder. Scott straightened up and walked out the door. Stiles followed; glad they weren't going to use the window again. Scott sighed, his shoulders sagging "Stiles, it's just…" he began. His head snapped up, his eyes widened as his nostrils flared. "Scott….?" Stiles said, watching his friend bolt forward, sniffing once more. "I caught it!" Scott cried out gleefully. "What?" Stiles asked, with the exact opposite of enthusiasm in his own voice. "I got Derek's scent! He left in the same direction he came! Don't you see? His older scent, when he approached the building, and his new scent, when he left the building, is sitting one on top of the other!" Scott continued, looking very excited and proud of himself for figuring it out. "Yaaay, greaaat, the goose chase continues" Stiles muttered sarcastically before walking back to his parked jeep.

She'd lost them… Lydia groaned in frustration. Her car sat idle as she looked to the left, and then to the right, Stiles' jeep nowhere in sight. She took a few deep breaths, calming and collecting herself. This was good, this was a sign; a sign that she was being ridiculous and downright silly, and that she should go home. It wasn't like she was actually going to follow Scott and Stiles; they were probably off doing something lame. What'd she care what it was? Still Lydia put the car in park and waited, for what, she didn't know. She just waited.

It leads into the forest" Scott said with conviction. Stiles didn't say anything; he just stared at the road. He took a deep breath, glanced at Scott, back at the road, and then spoke. "What are we going to do if it is the Argents?" he asked softly. "We can't let them kill anyone" Scott said quickly. "What if Allison is there?" Stiles said, wanting his friend to be prepared for the possibility of fighting his own girlfriend. "Stiles" Scott warned, glaring out the window. "No Scott!" Stiles retorted, not wanting to see his friend hurt emotionally, or worse, physically, if Allison turned on him. What if she decided capturing Derek was more important than her relationship with Scott? "You have to face the possibility that Allison might be there, and she might be on the hunters' side. What are you going to do if she demands Derek's head? What are you going to do is she stands in the way of you saving Isaac, Boyd, or Erica?" he said. Scott just glared at the window, but Stiles could practically feel the anxiety his words had caused in him.

The jeep flew by, Stiles staring at the windshield as if he could burn to holes through it with his vision, and Scott was staring intently out the window. They didn't notice Lydia's parked car as they drove by. She stared in the direction they'd disappeared in, and very slowly, very deliberately, she put her car in drive and followed them.

**(Yay! All the characters are coming together! I'll post chapter seven soon)**


	7. The Trap

**_*Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)_**

**Not one of my best chapters, I'll admit... My favorites, by far, have been chapters 3 and chapters 4... I wrote this in a hurry, right before going to bed. Chapter 8 will be better... most likely... ^-^**

**Chapter Seven**

The werewolves were secure, they had thick cuffs, more like shackles, on their wrists and ankles, the shackles were bound together by a thick chain, making movement, specifically walking, difficult. They thick metal collars on their necks as well. Their arms were behind them, police style. Making sure they were still knocked out, and having their weapons ready, they unloaded the three young werewolves from the back of the van, which was parked at the side of the Hale house. Allison watched her father place Isaac down, his back to a tree, his head hanging limply, and his knees bent ankles together. A chain was clipped to his collar, wrapped around the tree, and then attached to his collar again. He was basically immobilized, while not in any pain; her father insisted they be _humane_. Allison snorted at the thought, and watched Erica and Boyd be bound to nearby trees in a same manner. All three were still unconscious. She ordered the van to be hidden a few yards away, and then ordered all the hunters to get to their positions and await Derek's arrival. 'Go ahead Derek' she thought, 'Come, be a _hero_' she thought sarcastically. '_Heroes_ didn't bite hunters, forcing her to kill herself…' Allison felt the tears threating to well up in her eyes. She blinked fiercely, not allowing the tears to come. No! No! She would not cry, she would extract her revenge, Derek would die tonight, and she'd be the one to kill him. She was making sure off that… Allison tightened her grip on her bow, and went to get into position as well.

Derek slowed down, then stopped, crouching behind a tree, mere yards from his house. 'They can't do this, I won't let them. .. Not in front of _my home_' Derek thought, he could almost feel the moon overhead, lighting his path. 'Show me the way' he plead, getting no response, as usual. He glanced around, drinking in the scents. He knew they were out there, smart bastards, they would be hiding well, mostly down wind, somewhere high, or low, which ever they thought he was least likely to pay attention to. He had to find were they were keeping his pack. Inside his house? Hidden somewhere around it? In a vehicle? He couldn't just rush in like a knight in shining armor, he'd get caught and they'd strike him down. He was no used to his pack crippled by arrows, or dead; he'd have to be careful, find out how many hunters were hiding from his view, and find out where they were keeping his pack. He heard leaves rustle as a foot brushed by them. He whirled around and bared his teeth in warning, though he didn't snarl, he didn't want to give away his position, only to find out he'd been startled by a squirrel. Scott stared back at him, holding his hands up to show he wasn't a threat. "Dere-" Scott began. Derek rushed over and covered his mouth with his hand. "Shh!" he hissed in the boy's ear. "Quiet, you'll give away our position!" he warned. Scott looked up at him, blinking. Derek slowly removed his hand, and Scott nodded. "Reveal our position to whom?" Scott asked, coming to crouching beside him. "The Argents" Derek said, not bothering to lie, Scott was in too deep anyways. If he started arguing with the boy they'd most certainly reveal their positions. "Keep quiet and stay low" Derek growled in Scott's ear, hoping he'd obey the command. Derek then crept forward, keeping his eyes forward.

"Allison?" Scott murmured, catching a whiff of the girl he loved most in the world's scent. "Allison?" he called a little loud, without thinking he raised his head, to look around and to have better access to the scents in the breeze. "Idiot!" he heard Derek snarl at him. He turned to look at Derek; surprised when the older werewolf slamming into him, knocking him to the ground. "Grrraaaah!" he heard Derek snarl, at first he thought he was still venting his rage at Scott for looking up. Then Derek rolled off him, and Scott caught sight of the arrow lodged deep in his back. He hadn't even heard it….

Derek bared his teeth, grinding them in pain, he attempted to push himself up, the muscles in and around his shoulders pulling and tensing, causing more pain to cut through him. He felt Scott's hand grip his arm, pulling him up the rest of the way. "We have to run" Derek said, looking at the younger boy intensely. He was disappointed, but not surprised, when he saw the look of disagreement on Scott's face. The boy still believed in Allison, and their love. He didn't think she'd allow her family to kill them. 'Fool' Derek thought. What was it going to take for Scott to see? Like Aunt, like niece, did Allison have to burn his house down for him to see the resemblance the girl held to her sadistic Aunt Kate? He saw Scott open his mouth, to protest, or to defend his view point. Derek grabbed Scott's shirt in his fist and pulled the boy's face close to his own. "Listen to me Scott. LISTEN! They have my pack, they have set up a trap, if we get caught they will most likely kill me, then you. If you stay here, crouched like an idiot, still believing in the love that never even stood a chance in the first place, you will die, and you may also cause Isaac, Erica, and Boyd to lose their lives as well" he fervently explained to the thick headed boy. He opened his mouth to say more, but his ears pricked, catching a familiar sound. "Shield your eyes!" he warned, closing his own and throwing his arm over them, his other hand still gripping Scott's shirt, as a flare designed specifically to blind werewolves went up.

Derek lifted his arm off his face, but kept his eyes shut; he started forward, tugging Scott along. They didn't have much time, the hunters used the time the flare gave them wisely, it would be stupid to think they weren't near, if they didn't have them surrounded already. He tentatively opened his eyes, then blinked slowly, finding the bright light created by the flare to be gone. He continued to pull Scott along, not daring to waste time by checking to see if the young werewolf had shut his eyes before the flare went off. His ears picked up a light, barely noticeable sound, and he looked up to see Allison, standing to his left, arrow pointed right at his chest. He bared his fangs at her, his right hand still gripping Scott's shirt. His look dared her to go through with it, his muscles tensed, preparing to catch the arrow.

Scott hesitantly opened his eyes, his ears picking up a noise that sounded very much like an arrow brushing against- "Allison" he breath with conviction. He blinked, the first thing he noticed was Derek crouching defiantly in front of him, glaring at someone who stood to their left. He turned his head, seeing Allison standing a few feet away, bow taunt and ready. "Allison?" he murmured, not recognizing the cold look in her eyes as she held the arrow aimed at Derek's chest. "Allison?" he said a little louder, trying to take a step toward her, but unable to as Derek tightened his grip on his shirt. Allison heard him, however, she remained facing Derek, but slid her eyes to look at him. They held no love for him, they simply regarded he was there, and then she refocused her attention on Derek. Derek gave her a wolfy grunt, he let go of Scott's shirt and pounced at Allison. "No!" Scott yelled, tackling Derek's legs. The young Alpha still managed to take a swipe at Allison's legs, knocking her down.

Derek lunged at Allison, aiming to crush her bow in his hands and knock her to the ground, then get away as she recovered. No doubt she'd have a dagger of some sort; he'd only have a short span of time before she threw it at his retreating form. Then Scott tackled him, stopping him just short of reaching the girl's weapon of choice. He managed to knock her off her feet, but the bow was still in her hand. He knew she would still be able to aim it, even while on her back. "Let's go!" he growled at Scott, grabbing his shirt roughly and running forwards, tugging him along with him. _*Flint* *Flint* *Flint*_ "MOVE!" he snarled, when Scott didn't catch on quickly enough, he gave Scott a shove, hurtling the boy a few feet ahead of himself. "Don't stop running!" he said. He heard gunshots, a bullet striking a tree seconds after he ran by it. He turned in the direction of his house, sharply, pulling Scott with him. From the corner of his eye he saw Chris pick his daughter up, the bow still in her grasp, the gun still in his.

Scott slowed to a stop, placing his hands on his knees and bending forward. He wasn't winded, but his heart was beating like crazy. He couldn't help but wonder, however much he tried,… would Allison have actually shot him if he got in the way? Would he have one of her arrows lodged somewhere in his body if Derek hadn't forced him to run? Derek…, remembering the young Alpha, Scott turned to look at him. He was standing straight, looking back in the direction they'd come from. Trying to see how close the Argents were, Scott guessed. The arrow was still in Derek's back, he also had a tear in his leather jacket, blood visible as it seeped out of the wound caused by one of Allison's arrows. As if sensing he was being observed, Derek glanced at Scott, his eyes emotionless. He pulled the arrow from his back, then walked past him, toward his house. Unable to think of anything else to do that was reasonable, Scott followed him.

Stiles waited in his jeep for Scott to return, he'd gone to see if they were on the right trail, if he found Derek's scent he would return and point Stiles in the right direction and then they'd drive there. He drummed his fingers on the steering wheel; Scott would be right back… No reason to get impatient…

***You know which are my favorite chapters,... which are yours? Leave an answer in a review below! =) ***


	8. Stay With Me

**********__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

**************Music don't fail me now... Music is my muse, and for the last two, perhaps three days, I've been listening to the same song: A Perfect Circle, Pet. It was pretty much just background music for a while, but when I got to Derek and Scott, I found that the song was begining to influence what I wrote.. not the direction[I already knew where it was going before starting' but the dialogue and such. In fact, some of it is actually lyrics from the song, not many though, just one or two. If you want you're welcome...(and perhaps even encouraged to hear the song as you read, to get a feeling of what, well I was feeling as I wrote... **

**Chapter Eight**

Okay, that was it. Stiles wasn't waiting anymore. Scott was obviously not coming back. He'd probably scented Derek and run off to find him, forgetting all about his buddy Stiles, who he'd, left at the sidelines. Stiles sighed, he didn't want to be left here, who knows what Derek was chasing, or if it was around. What if it was the Kanima? He wasn't waiting here alone. He also wasn't about to ditch his friend and go home. He was going to follow after Scott and stick right by his side. That decided, Stiles started his car and began to drive in the direction he'd last seen Scott, hoping he hadn't made many twists and turns.

Allison felt her legs knocked out from under her with one swipe from Derek's powerful arms. She pitched backwards and tightened her grip on her bow; she didn't want to lose it when her hand hit the ground. She could hear Derek, and Scott, sprinting away even before her head smacked against the ground, she felt the pain as her knuckles hit as well, the bow weighing her hand. A lesser person's bow would have had their bow bounce out of their grip upon impact, but her tight grip prevented that from happening. Her breath was knocked out of her when she fell. She could hear her father approaching, gunshots fired. Even without looking, she knew they were just warning shots. She turned her head to the side, watching the retreating forms of Derek and Scott. She readjusted her grip on her bow, grabbed at nearby arrows, and let them fly, three precisely, one right after the other. One hit a tree fight after Derek brushed past it, the other hit the ground, a second too late, she'd been aiming for his leg, the other grazed his arm, getting stuck there for a second. Derek then brushed by a tree and the arrow was torn from his arm. She hoped that hurt. Her father then grabbed her and helped her up, concern in his gaze. He sat her up and looked her over, seeing she didn't have a single scratch on her he helped her up and looked in the direction the two werewolves had run. They'd been heading for his house. That's where the younger werewolves were….

Derek winced as his torn sleeve brushed roughly against the large, deep gash in his arm. The arrow had struck deep, but it was already beginning to heal. He sniffed around his house's front steps, quickly realizing his pack had not been taken inside. He continued toward the side of his house, absent-mindedly aware of Scott following close behind him.

Derek straightened up, staring out at the distance, looking very much like a Pointer. Without warning he sprinted around the house and, knowing he'd found something, Scott ran after him. He saw Derek head into the line of trees by the side of his house, urgency in his step.

"Mmmmrrrraaah" Isaac groaned, his head hung limply, chin to chest. Not having the strength to open his eyes yet, he squeezed them shut tighter. His head rolled from one side to the other when he attempted to lift it. He left a hand on his shoulder. Hearing murmuring voices he attempted to open his eyes. He groaned again, "Shh, stay quiet" voice murmured. Finally able to lift his eye lids, Isaac blinked and lifted his head, staring into Derek's worried gaze. As soon as the alpha noticed Isaac was looking at him, the concern went away. "Uhhhn" Isaac moaned, feeling groggy and dazed, and not liking it one bit. He tried to sit up straighter, but something pulled at his wrists, ankles, and… neck. Isaac's eyes widened, fear gripped him and he struggled against whatever bound him, becoming frantic at the feeling of a collar on his neck. He was chained down like a dog, unable to even sit up straight. "Hey. Hey!" Derek hissed, he slammed his shoulder into the tree trunk he was chained to, and held him there, pressed to the bark, grabbing his attention and stopping his struggles. "Hey. Hey. Stay with me" he said, when the boy's eyes glazed over, threatening to fall unconscious again. "I'm going to get you out" Derek promised, holding onto his shoulder and forcing eye contact. "Stay still" he said. Isaac nodded weakly and went limp; it felt very uncomfortable when he resisted the thick shackles. "And be quiet" Derek ordered, and then went back to working on his shackles, trying to find a way get them off. Isaac looked around and noticed Erica, with Scott trying to free her from her shackles. Erica was strapped to a tree trunk as well, her hands bound with shackles behind her back, her knees bent, ankles bound together as well, a very thick and wide collar around her neck, and thick chains locking her in place by tying her to the tree trunk. Boyd was chained in the exact same manner. The fog lifting from his mind slightly, he realized he must be tied in the exact same way as well, it looked so demeaning, and felt worse. He tensed at the sound of claws scrapping against metal and turned his head to look at Derek, fully understanding for the first time that he was here to rescue them. "You came" he breathe in a sigh of relief, Derek had heard him, he was here to take them away from the Argents and to safety. "You called" Derek responded, as if reading his thoughts, he then focused on his work again. Isaac had no idea what he was doing; he let his head hang low.

"Okay, now" Derek said. Isaac looked up slowly. Derek studied the boy; it looked like he had been falling asleep. This was not good. Were the other two in the same daze and fog? "What did they give you?" Derek muttered to himself, knowing one of the hunters must have drugged them to keep them down and unable to break the chains. He might have to drag three drugged and confused werewolves and one lovesick puppy and at the same time keep them all safe from the Argents… He crouched down in front of Isaac and grabbed his shoulder; he tightened his grip slightly so Isaac would know to look at him. He held the boy's gaze, "Listen to me Isaac. ISAAC! Stay awake. Stay with me. Look, this is important. Are you listening?" Derek waited for Isaac's feeble nod before continuing. "I've weakened your shackles. You can break free; you just have to try, okay? Pull against your cuffs, as hard as you can. Okay? Now!" Derek said. He saw Isaac narrow his eyes, trying to concentrate. He tugged against his binds, Derek held onto the chain. He didn't want him to break the chain, because then he'd still be cuffed, just not chained to the tree. He watched the boy strain, the metal groan, and then give away. Isaac's arms fell slack. "Now, help me with the ones around your ankles" Derek said. They both tugged, and those gave away as well. Derek then broke his collar. Isaac struggled to stand up, his knees wobbled and Derek had to catch him. 'What did those bastards give them?' Derek wondered again, as he steadied him.

Scott had caught up to Derek, finding him crouched beside a limp and unconscious Isaac. Derek had placed his hand the boy's shoulder, as if lamenting what had happened to him, as stared at him, as if waiting for a response. He'd then stood up to walk over to where Erica and Boyd lay, bound and gagged. Scott noticed a shredded cloth at Isaac's feet, guessing Derek must have torn it off. He'd looked back at Derek, finding he'd torn off Erica's cloth as well. Just like with Isaac he placed his hand on her shoulder and waited. Erica didn't move, and Derek moved on to Boyd. "They're all unconscious, but alive and otherwise well" Derek had said. "Help them" he'd ordered, and then, not waiting to see if he followed his order or not, he'd crouched in front of Isaac again and had begun to work on his shackles. He'd watched Derek test them for weakness, to find their strongest and most fragile parts, and claw at them; then he'd turned around and had tried to find a way to help Erica.

'Oh, now this is going to be nice' Peter thought as he looked down at the scenes that played below him, crouching on a high tree branch. He'd watched Derek, Allison, and Scott's confrontation. Wow, how that girl had changed, had she really been about to pull the trigger? Let the arrow fly? He was disappointed that he wasn't able to find out, as the girl was tackled down. Derek and Scott fled the scene, but it didn't remain empty for long, Chris and the other hunters came to the scene. Though yards away, he could hear them just fine. Oh, the girl wanted to fight, he could see it, in her eyes, the way she held herself. He didn't doubt she would have let the arrow fly now. Another car came along, this one carrying Gerard. He watched the older man step out of his vehicle, 'Now to wait for him to call his pet' Peter thought, shifting his weight, claws digging into the branch.

What was- was that… was that a van? Stiles drove closer, seeing that yes, yes it was a van, parked in the middle of nowhere. He parked in car, left the engine running, and got out, walking toward the van. It was empty, but not abandoned. It had been parked here recently. Stiles walked down to its rear and looked at the two doors. 'Why must you be so curious' he thought to himself, as he reached to open the doors, hoping with all his might something didn't leap out like the world's scariest jack-in-the-box. Bracing himself, he gripped he handles and tugged. They weren't locked, and opened to reveal a dull metal box. Bars separated the back of the van from the driver and whoever was in the passenger seat. Chipped and cracked shackles, and scratched chins cluttered the floor, as well as a broken crossbow. All in all, Stiles was staring at a very depressing and uncomfortable looking prison… and he knew who it belonged to. He'd been right, Derek was fighting the Argents. He turned to run back to his car, returned to slam the van's doors shut, then raced back to his car, jumping in.

Lydia waited, getting bored. She knew this had been a stupid idea. Stiles and Scott had parked the jeep and Scott had jumped out and walked away. Stiles didn't follow him, neither on foot or in the jeep. Lydia guessed that Scott would be right back, but he wasn't. he didn't come back at all. 'Maybe I should have followed Scott' Lydia thought, she was ready to drive back home when Stiles started his jeep. 'He must have gotten a call from Scott' Lydia thought. She started her car as well and drove after him, trying to keep out of view. He led her to another 'in the middle of nowhere' part of the forest, and stopped. Lydia watched and waited as Stiles got out of the jeep to inspect a van parked a few feet in front of him. Lydia recognized it as the van she'd seen Allison in earlier. She watched Stiles got to the back of the van, open it, look inside, then close it and get back in his jeep. He sat in in for a while, then stepped back out and began to walk away. Lydia groaned internally, she didn't want to go treading through the forest… it didn't occur to her to turn around and go home. She stepped out of her own car and followed.

"Hi Grandpa" Allison greeted her grandfather as he pulled up beside her, her father, and the other hunters. "What do we have here" he asked, Allison knew that he knew something had gone wrong, or they would all be in their positions. 'Or better yet, they'd have Derek' Allison thought. "Derek arrived, but Scott was with him. They got away" she said. He shook his head, causing Allison to tilt her head slightly. "Got away? Or went to retrieve their pack mates?" he said. Allison looked at her grandfather, "We can't just go at them, Derek will be expecting us" she said. "That's why we won't go straight at them" he said. Allison nodded, catching on, "We could go around them, come from the front" she said, tightening her grip of her bow. "Exactly" he said, smiling a bit. "Let's go Allison commanded, not waiting for a reply.

Now Scott watched Boyd shake his head back and forth, eye lids fluttering. He grunted, instincts taking over as he realized chains and shackles held him down. He struggled, much like Isaac had, feeble, and to no avail. Derek left Isaac leaning on a tree and came to Boyd's side, calming him before he alerted the hunters. Scott watched him murmur to Boyd, who nodded and relaxed against the tree trunk, the struggle seemed to have tired him out. He turned to his task of freeing Erica, who still hadn't woken. He looked at the shackles having to idea how to break them, the chains were easier. Erica slumped to the ground once he broke the chains holding her up to the tree. He thought about simply tugging sand ripping the shackles open, but that might injure Erica. He left his hands rest on the shackles, unsure. "Do it" he heard Derek say, he turned around to find him standing behind him. "Erica will heal; the most important thing right is to get them out of here, Now" Derek said. Scott looked around Derek at Boyd, slumped again a tree, eyes half closed, and Isaac, leaning on a tree in order to remain standing. He wondered just how exactly Derek would manage that.

Derek stared Scott down until; finally, he nodded and, gripping the shackles tightly, tore them off Erica's wrists. "Gah!" Erica cried, the pain jolting her awake. Blood oozed down her wrists, were the metal had torn into her skin. She remained a limp heap on the ground, though her head began to roll back and forth. Derek watched Scott move to remove the shackles on her wrists. He turned around and walked up to Boyd. He picked him up, allowing him to lean on the tree. "Stay on your feet" he commanded, "Get the feeling back in your legs, you're going to need them" he said. His head jerked up, he stared at the distance, and realized the hunters had circled around them. 'Stealthy bastards' he thought to himself. He pulled Boyd and Isaac away from the trees they were leaning on; they stumbled as he dragged them over to Scott, who was trying to fit his claws into the place where Erica's collar clasped together. "Let's go, he said, letting go of his two pack mates and tearing Scott away from Erica, he tore her collar off. Her eyes flew open and she groaned. 'No time for this' Derek thought, he grabbed the limp girl and flung her over his shoulder. She hung like a lamb, her arms and head hanging over his left shoulder, her legs over his left shoulder. "What's going on-" Scott began to ask. Derek shoved Scott in the direction he wanted him to run, as the first arrow was shot. "Run!" he growled, splitting for the denser part of the forest, away from his house.

Scott began to run, out of the corner of his eye he saw Derek give Isaac and Boyd a rough shove in the same direction. He raced ahead, before he realized he was ahead of everyone else. Derek had taken the rear, Erica weighing him down. He bolted back to help, "**_No!_**" Derek snarled, glaring at Scott, "Help _them_" he said, jerking his head toward Isaac and Boyd. Isaac stumbled and fell to his knees, while Boyd ran ahead, looking like a bear that had just woken from hibernation. Scott gave Derek a somber look, but decided not to argue. He helped Isaac up and ran, tugging him along by his sleeve. He didn't stop running, and he didn't look back. All he saw was a blurry forest, and all he heard was the unmistakable sound of arrows flying toward him. He heard Derek snarl, knowing he'd been hit he turned to look at him, to see if he was down. "Keep Running!" Derek growled at him, ferocity and pain in his voice, forcing Scott's attention to snap back to the forest ahead of him. "And don't look back!" Derek called after him. He kept running.

Derek stopped running, the hunters having been left far behind them. He crouched down and set Erica down on the ground, groaning as he did. He had three arrows lodged in his back; he hadn't been able to dodge or zigzag with Erica's weight on his shoulders, dragging him down. He looked around, Scott seemed to be okay, Isaac was no longer tottering, threating to fall over and there was clarity in Boyd's eyes. Beside him, Erica groaned and looked up at him. He helped her sit up. "Now what?" Scott asked, sitting by a tree. Derek looked at him, not really knowing the answer.

"I have to go get Allison" Scott said softly, his eyes staring into space. He didn't seem to know he'd just said that out loud, but Derek stood up, blocking Scott's path. "No, you don't and no, you're not" he said, command behind his voice. "Yes, I am Derek. She's my girlfriend, I'm not leaving her" Scott said. "You say that like _she _was the one hog-tied to a tree, not _my_ pack. She did that Scott! She was going to kill _us_!" Derek said. "No! No she wasn't! She wouldn't have done that, Derek." Scott argued with conviction. "No Scott" Derek responded, standing taller, asserting his position as Alpha. "I'm going" Scott said, walking past him. Derek's hand snaked out and gripped Scott's wrist, tight. "Why won't you _listen_!" he hissed out the last part. "She's one of them. She's a killer, a murder, a sadistic-" "SHUT UP!" Scott growled, grabbing Derek's arm with his claws and flinging him away. Derek managed to land on his legs, crouching on all fours and sliding a couple of feet. "She was going for the kill, and you know it. She's an Argent. They want us dead, we want them dead, that's how it works!" Derek continued with his word assault. "Shut up, shut up!" Scott growled, crouching down. "The more you live in this illusion, the more your life span will decrease. She'll be the death of you, Scott. _Stay with me_" Derek plead. "We're safer together, Scott! Scott! We're safer _away _from _them_!" Derek willed the boy to listen. Scott growled wordlessly, and turned around, walking away. "Scott, I'm warning you. _Don't_!" Derek called after him, straightening up. He was ignored. "Scott!" Derek growled, the boy didn't turn around, he just kept walking.

***This chapter feels rushed... I am bad at names...and last names... and titles... There, I said it... That said, I will be renaming all my chapters, and naming them, yes actually name them, not just numbers, from now on. Gotta start somewhere, right? Just wanted to let you know... that..***


	9. An Old Enemy Returns

**************_*Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, n__or do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and __others)_**

**************OMG! I loved the Teen Wolf season finale! It was so cool, and left so many good things to explore next season! I almost didn't want to finish this, now that I'd seen the finale and all... But I couldn't do that to you guys... So, here you go!**

**Chapter Nine**

'Good, it's here' Gerard thought, as he felt the Kanima's presence. 'Not yet, not yet' he thought, 'I want to savor the moment… I want to watch the light fade from his eyes as he dies'…

Allison slowly lowered her bow when the werewolf pack ran out of sight. Her face was unreadable, her emotions under control. She could wait, she wasn't a child. She could wait for her chance to strike. She could see her father and her grandfather standing beside her, from the corner of her eyes. The other hunters were behind them, but she knew they were there. She closed her eyes. This was her moment. She had to give the orders; she had to be the one to lead them into battle, to decide what to do next. She'd already decided this would end tonight, now she just had to figure out how to catch up to Derek before he disappeared for good. If he got away he'd go into hiding, and not come out for a long time. 'Coward' she thought, shifting her grip on her bow.

"Now what?" Isaac asked, looking at Derek. Derek glanced at him, then at Boyd and Erica, Boyd was helping her to her feet. "You guys think you're okay to run?" he asked. Isaac nodded; Boyd nodded as well, looking at Erica. Erica focused her gaze on Derek. "How far?" she asked, finding her voice. "Far enough" Derek said, only because he didn't know how far… Did the hunters know about his lair? He wasn't about to risk his pack's safety by taking them back there, he'd check the place out on his own some other time.

The Kanima hissed, a sound so low, only a werewolf would have heard it… Fortunately, Peter was a werewolf. He smiled a slow smile, it was here, it was close, but he was closer. Certain that he could kill Gerard before the Kanima could come, Peter climbed down the tree. After all, Gerard didn't have it as a guard dog; he had it as an attack mutt. The Kanima wouldn't be looking out for threats, and neither would Gerard. He stalked toward the hunters, knowing he had to look out for them as well. He crept up from behind, crouching low.

Scott's head jerked up, his eyes narrowing in concentration, then determination when he recognized the sound. "Allison" he said with concern, she was in the forest, so was the Kanima… he had to protect her! He began to run, no, race, back to where he had last seen Allison, Derek's house.

"Allison!" Allison heard the cry, her bow was up and taunt, before she realized it wasn't a threat, it had been Scott. She looked in the direction the sound had come from, seeing Scott running in her direction. "Scott?" she murmured, her voice barely above a whisper. "Get him!" she heard someone cry. 'Kill Scott?' No….no…she couldn't allow it. She looked around, trying to see who was aiming a weapon at him. No one had their weapons up; no one was even looking Scott's way. That's when she heard the serpent hiss. She whirled around to face the Kanima, bow taunt. It was crouched in front of Gerard, tail wrapped around his legs. But her grandpa seemed unafraid. "Grandfa-"Alison began, when her Gerard flicked his wrist, and the Kanima leaped forward, charging right at Scott. "No!" she cried, she didn't want him to die… not him.

Scott skid to a stop as the Kanima launched itself at him. His claws grew out, his fangs elongated, and he snarled as the Kanima bulldozed into him, knocking him to the ground. They both hissed at each other, their faces inches apart. Scott grabbed its wrists, he knew one sliced from its claws would leave him paralyzed, and then he'd be done for. It snarled in his face.

Now was his chance, all the hunters were distracted, looking at Scott and the Kanima's wrestling match. Allison let loose a few arrows into its back. It hissed and Scott kicked him off. The Kanima rolled away; it looked at Allison and pulled the arrows out, not even wincing as it did so. Not a second after the last arrow was out did it get tackled by Scott. Peter raced forward, too fast for the humans, even though they were hunters, they didn't manage to train their weapons on him until he had his claws deep in Gerard's back. The older man gurgled, blood spilling out of his mouth. It reminded him a bit of when he'd attacked Derek, except Gerard couldn't heal. All the hunters had their weapons turned on him, but he held up Gerard like a shield. The Kanima looked up, noticing its master was in trouble. It threw Scott, whose neck it held in its grasp, away and ran forward. Peter smiled; he raked his claws up Gerard's back and flung him toward a tree.

Chris rushed to his father's side and gripped his shoulder, looking into his eyes and seeing his father was still alive. He picked him up, so his shoulders lay on his knees. There were many thoughts running through his mind, such as 'Don't die. I just buried my wife'… and the simple whimpering of a child watching his father die. But all he managed to say, in a disgusted voice, was "You? You controlled the Kanima?" Gerard gurgled, more blood dripping from his mouth. He glared back at him, hatred in his eyes. Gerard tried to say something, looking as if he wanted to spat, like a cat. But he was only able to tremble in Chris' arms then go limp, his eyes rolling into his skull and closing.

Allison looked at her father cradle her grandfather, she looked up, bow in hand, and arrow pointing at Peter, how had he come back? Her bow trembled slightly, but there was no fear in her gaze, only determination. She hesitated when she saw the Kanima looking at Peter, who held out his hand. The Kanima reached for it, and their palms pressed together. She let the arrow fly, Peter's hand flashed up, catching it before it sunk in his chest. The Kanima whirled around and hissed at her, crouching in front of Peter. It's tail wrapped around his torso possessively, protectively. It belonged to him now.

Scott groaned, pulling himself to his feet. He began to run back in the direction of Derek's house, stumbling, feeling a bit dizzy from the blow he'd received to the head from fighting with the Kanima. He fell on all fours and lunged forward, coming to crouch in front of Allison protectively. He snarled at the Kanima. It hissed back. Now in front of Allison, now close enough to protect her, his mind opened up a bit. He noticed from the corner of his eye that Allison was pointing an arrow at the Kanima's head. He noticed Chris crouched to the left, cradling something… or someone. Then his eyes trailed up and he realized the Kanima wasn't crouching in front of Gerard… It was crouching in front of… "Peter…." He said, astonished. The older werewolf was back from the grave…. 'How… when… why…. HOW?!' Scott wondered, he tensed in front of Allison. He could hear her heart, fluttering like a bird's, she was scared… you won't know that by looking at her, her face was emotionless, her body in fight mode. "Scott, Allison, it's certainly nice to see you. I'm afraid I can't stay around and catch up, as much as I'd love to hear about what's been happen in your lives since you helped kill me…. I have someone I need to pay a visit to" Peter said. He walked past them, the Kanima at his feet, like a dog on a leash. Scott growling at him, following him with his eyes, while Allison kept her arrow trained on the Kanima. "Finish them" he heard Peter say. 'What? No!' Scott thought, launching himself at Peter. The Kanima blocked his path, flinging him to the ground. Its claw raked again his leg, it went numb, and Scott crashed to the ground. He was pretty much useless while on only one leg. He snarled, watching Peter sprint away. The Kanima circled Allison, and Chris rose up, a gun in his hand. The other hunters already had their weapons trained on the Kanima, frightened expressions on their faces.

Stiles kept walking, looking around as if he would find clues to tell him which direction Scott had gone. Of course he saw no clues, just dirt, grass, dried leaves, and trees, lots and lots of trees. He pressed his lips together, how was he supposed to find Scott? "Scott! Scott! We're safer together" Stiles looked up at the sound of Derek's voice. It sounded like Scott was with him, and they were arguing. Not wanting to get left behind again, Stiles began to run in the direction of the voices. It would be just his luck, if they moved again before he got there.

Lydia had lost Stiles, again, but this time she couldn't find him. She'd been lagging behind, making sure to stay out of sight, but she'd gotten too far behind. Now she couldn't find Stiles, she had no idea which way he'd gone. She was lost. 'Well, at least I'm not naked this time' she thought, treading carefully, her boots had high heels, she could get a twisted ankle if she took a wrong step. "Stiles?" she called out, not caring if he knew she was following him anymore, now she just cared about not being alone… "Stiles?!" she called a little louder.

Derek squatted down; he didn't want to sit down. Adrenaline had rushed through him during the running away from the Argents, and then again when he and Scott argued. It was wiping him out, but, now that he was no longer having the adrenaline rush, he was beginning to feel the arrows in his back. The skin had begun to heal close around them, which meant it would hurt twice as much to pull them out… or that he would be getting an infection from the arrow heads. He looked down at the ten claw marks left by Scott on his arm, he'd dug his claws into him when he'd flung him away. He hadn't meant to, and the wounds weren't all that bad, they were already healing. He glanced up at the sound of footsteps, hoping Scott had listened to reason. It took him a while to realize this person was being too noisy to be Scott or a werewolf in general. He stood to face whoever was coming their way, and saw Stiles, clumsily running toward him. He stopped and leaned next to a tree, breathing heavily. Derek regarded him with little interest, "What are you doing here?" Derek asked him. "Looking- lookin- looking for Scott" Stiles panted, leaning over and resting his hands on his knees. Derek scoffed, "Scott isn't here" he said, looking out toward the forest. "Wha-…. What? But I heard- … him, and you… You were arguing" Stiles finally got out. "Just how fast do you think Scott can run, Stiles?" Derek asked, not waiting for an answer, he went on "Fast enough for him and I to argue, you to hear us, him to run off, and you to find him gone" he said, looking irritated at Stiles. Stiles straighten up, no longer panting "Soooo, which way did he go?" he asked. Derek scoffed again "As if you need to ask? Back to Allison" he said, glaring at the ground with enough power to make it want to slink away and cower in a corner. "Uh, Derek?" Stiles asked. Derek turned his glare to him, Stiles took a step back. "Um, you have an…er… three arrows lodged into your back" he said. Derek intensified his glare, and Stiles shrunk into himself. "It's cool, if… you know… what to keep them in there…. I just didn't know arrows were back in fashion… Uh,… good look" he stammered. Derek rolled his eyes at him, "I know they're there, Stiles, I'm going to take them out" he said. "Will… will it hurt?" Stiles asked, wondering if that was why Derek was yet to pull them out. "It's nothing I can't handle" Derek said, glaring at him momentarily, before looking away again.

"Ah, that's right…. I'd forgotten. Your Derek Hale, you don't need anyone, and you can take anything the word decided to throw at you. And now your Alpha, good job on that by the way, and you don't need anyone telling you what to do, you don't need their advice" the purring voice reached Stiles ears. Stiles looked around, when he saw Peter, smiling 'warmly' at them; he stumbled back, falling on his butt. "Ah!" he shouted, surprised, to say the least. He gawked at the man who had been dead only months before. Peter stepped forward, walking slowly, and Stiles scampered back, still on his butt, until he bumped into Derek's leg. A rough hand grabbed him and pulled him to his feet. It was Derek, who pushed the stumbling Stiles behind him, snarling at Peter. "Go, find Scott. Stay together" Derek said, backing up, trying to lengthen the space between Peter and his pack.

Derek snarled at Peter, crouching protectively in front of Isaac, Erica, Boyd, and Stiles. His uncle had used him to tear away from the cold grasp of death itself, and he wasn't too happy about it. Peter only looked at him with, what? Pity? He gave him a knowing smile. "Now, Derek, that's not the way to greet family… Granted, we meet when you helped raise me from the grave, but you passed out soon after, we didn't really get a chance to speak" Peter said, taking another step closer.

Derek snarled ferociously, bristling, as Peter walked closer. Isaac, Erica, Boyd and Stiles all huddled together in fear, cowering behind Derek. "Run" Derek said under his breath, Stiles barely catching the words. Isaac, Erica, and Boyd, however, heard perfectly. They tensed up, torn between obeying their Alpha's command, and standing beside him. "Run" he snarled, with more ferocity. Stiles gripped Isaac's shoulder, panicking. He couldn't run as fast as they could. "Come now Derek, don't be selfish. Let them join in on the _fun_" Peter said, walking forward without fear of his nephew, who was beginning to look like rabid dog. Stiles fully believed that at any moment now, Derek would beginning barking and would fall on all fours, transforming into a full werewolf. It didn't happen though, Derek just backed up, bumping into the four teenagers. Even without werewolf senses, Stiles could feel fear, panic, and anxiety oozing off Derek. He couldn't protect them, Stiles realized, and he knew it too. Peter, who actually was a werewolf, must have been able to pick up on even more of his nephew's emotions. He was toying with them all. Derek tensed up, ready to fight. "GO, NOW! RUN!" Derek snarled at them, baring his fangs at them. No order could have been uttered with more authority. Isaac, Erica, and Boyd turned and ran at the same time Peter lunged. Derek caught him, his left claws sinking into his shoulder, his right into his forearm, holding him back. Stiles froze when Peter pounced, the scariest 3-D moment of his life. He began to run after Derek stopped him, the older werewolf's claws inches from his face.

Peter snarled at Derek, his own fangs elongating. He sunk his claws into his nephews arm, raking them down, pushing them in deeper. Derek roared in pain, his own grip on Peter weakening. Seizing his chance, Peter gripped Derek by the throat, cutting off his oxygen supply. Deprived from oxygen, Derek's muscles weakened even more. Peter tore from his grasp and flung Derek away. He then ran after Stiles, who, not being a werewolf, hadn't gotten far during the short match. He gripped him from the back of his neck and held him up, toes brushing the ground. He dragged him back and repositioned his hand, now gripping his shoulder. His sensitive ears picked up the sound of his nephew getting up and rushing to tackle him. He whirled around, putting the human boy between him and Derek. Derek stopped, hand frozen above his head, claws held up read to strike, looking at Stiles' face, twisted in pain. "Look at him Derek" Peter said, shoving Stiles forward "If I applied any more pressure, I'd break his shoulder. A bad wound, yes, but a werewolf could still run away, and left alone, he could heal in a matter of days. But he, fragile thing, would be crippled for months. And if I did this" Peter said, twisting Stiles' arm unnaturally, causing Stiles to cry out in pain, and Derek to snarl a warning. He tensed, ready to pounce. Peter shook his finger, "If I did that, I would either shatter his arm, or simply break both his arm And his shoulder. Very painful indeed" he said, backing up from Derek slightly and letting Stiles' arm go, once again just gripping his shoulder. "But would it kill him? Or would I have to snap his neck afterwards to finish the job?" he asked, gripping Stiles' neck lightly for effect.

Stiles breathe rapidly, eyes wide and afraid. "Let him go" he heard Derek say. "Oh Derek, … You truly are selfish, aren't you? You want me all to yourself. I'm touched" Peter responded, flashing a fang-filled smile. "Then again" he added, pulling Stiles closer so his ear was by his mouth, "You did set me on fire" he hissed into Stiles ear. Derek roared his warning; Stiles closed his eyes, what would happen if Derek tackled Peter? Would the older werewolf be fast enough to snap his neck, or shatter his arm? "Oh fine, grumpy, don't get your fur in a bunch" Peter said. Stiles tentatively opened his eyes just as Peter prepared to fling him to the ground. His grip loosened, and then got tighter than ever. Stiles winced, in too much pain to cry out, he didn't hear a crunch, which meant his shoulder hadn't been broken, yet. "Then again… you did set me on fire" Peter repeated, brining Stiles up to his face. "Seriously, what was up with that? Did you think I would just let it go?" he asked. "W…W… Well yeah… ugh… considering you were dead!" Stiles choked out. "Trust me son" Peter hissed into his ear, "Humor" he said, "Won't help mask your pain." "And neither will sarcasm" he added. That's when Derek body-slammed Peter, knocking them both to the ground, and releasing Stiles from Peter's grip. Stiles landed on his back, "Ugh! My hero…" he said, though not all that sarcastically. He sat up, staring at the mass of werewolf flesh that wrestled inches from his shoes. Derek landed a blow to Peter's chest, while Peter swept Derek's legs out from under him. He landed on the ground with a thud, his breath seemingly knocked out of him. He still managed to block Peter's neck blow, though he didn't seem to be able to stand up again.

Derek held Peter's wrists, an attempt to keep the older werewolf from landing his own blows. Peter, in turned out, didn't need his claws; he flashed his fangs, and bit Derek's neck. "Argh!" Derek cried in pain, letting go of Peter's wrists and cupping the large wound in the side of his neck. Blood oozed from between his fingers. Stiles looked at the two werewolves, feeling so useless as Peter stood up, towering over Derek, and placed his foot on Derek's chest, pressing down. Derek grunted and gripped Peter's ankle with right hand, his left hand still cupping his neck. Peter smiled… no, that wasn't a smile, it was more like baring his fangs, and sunk his claws into Derek's right arm, and twisted. Stiles winced, wanting to help so bad, he couldn't take much more of this. It was the hospital all over again. Peter had turned out to be the Alpha, Derek had come, fought off his uncle, but had ended up getting beating up and crawling away. Now, even though he was now the Alpha, Derek was once again at his uncle's mercy, glaring defiantly up at the one who was in a perfect position to take his life.

Peter looked up and caught Stiles' gaze, holding it with his own unnerving stare. He smiled a sarcastic smile, an ugly smile. That's when he knew, he wasn't going to let him go. Peter still planned on killing him. Derek caught the look that passed between Peter and Stiles. He let go of his neck and swiped at Peter's leg, the one on top of his chest, claws digging in and unbalancing him. Derek then began to crawl away; Stiles' déjà vu was now stronger than ever. Peter looked at Derek slyly, "This is a slightly a less exciting chase scene than I had in mind" he said, following after his nephew slowly, like a cat who played with a mouse, knowing very well the entire time that the mouse couldn't possibly escape it's claws. Derek kept dragging himself away, he looked back, glancing first at Peter, then at Stiles. He held his eyes, the message in his eyes clearer than glass. His eyes plead Stiles to run, the intensity in them more powerful than if he had shouted the word. Stiles slowly understood, Derek was leading Peter away, knowing the recently brought back to life werewolf couldn't resist taunting and chasing him, kicking him while he was down. He cared more now about following Derek, than he did about killing Stiles. He could make a break for it. He stood up slowly on shaky legs. Derek began to drag himself away again, and Stiles began to back away, then turned around and ran.

Stiles wasn't ditching Derek, He Wasn't! He was going to get Scott; Scott would come back and help Derek defeat Peter, this time putting him six feet under for good. He wasn't abandoning Derek… HE WASN'T! He was getting help. He would be back, he would…

***P.S. I have started school. I will be very busy, but to not fret, this story shall be finished! =3 ***

**(Again, sorry this chapter feels so rushed... )**


	10. We're In This Together

**********__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

**Chapter Ten**

"Uhg!" Scott grunted, landing on his shoulder. The Kanima had tried to take a swipe at him with its claws, Scott had blocked the blow, but the Kanima had still managed to deliver a back-handed slap to Scott's right cheek. Its claws had grazed his check slightly, and Scott could feel it going numb, the loss of feeling slowly spreading down to the right half of his jaw. Scott hoped this wouldn't affect his ability to use his teeth. He was dragging his numb leg around, moving on three of his limbs. He glared at the seemingly invincible creature; Allison had already unloaded five arrowed into its back and skull and Chris had shot three bullets into it; his left hand dangled numb and useless, blood running down from the five claw marks left by the Kanima on his wrist. It didn't even slow down, it just pulled the arrows out and kept coming. Allison was now conserving her arrows, knowing it was useless to lose them all right now. Two of the hunters lay dead already. The third lay paralyzed from the neck down, unable to move.

Scott, Allison and Chris were standing in a triangle shape, the Kanima in the middle. It stood over the third hunter, looking from Allison to Scott to Chris and back. It raised its clawed hand high, "No!" Chris yelled, unloading two more bullets into its chest and shoulder. It hissed at him, and sunk its claws into the hunter's throat; they came out the other side. The hunter gurgled, the light quickly fading from his eyes. Pain and anger over being unable to help hiss comrades made Chris unload the rest of his semi-automatic in the Kanima. It squealed, though that too sounded like just and extension of its hiss, and it fled. Chris kept shooting until it was out of sight.

Scott, Allison, and Chris were all breathing hard. Scott straightened up, unable to believe they had actual won; he knew Peter might have just gotten bored and called it back, but he would take it. He began to straighten out of his three-legged crouch, smiling with relief, and turned to look at Allison. She seemed to be able to feel his eyes on her, for she looked back at him. He wasn't sure what he saw in them, but he knew, he _knew _it wasn't hatred for him, or the werewolf he was. That's when his sensitive ears picked up the claw sliding down the tree trunk, his eyes must have shown his surprise or his body must have tensed, because Allison quickly locked back around in time to see the Kanima climbing down the tree trunk behind Chris, who had gone to look at his most recent fallen hunter. He placed his hand on his shoulder, sorrow in his eyes. "Dad!" Allison shouted, her hands a blur as she took one of her two arrows left and pulled the bow taunt. The Kanima was still faster, Chris whirled around to look behind him, jumping backwards, but the Kanima was still able to take a swipe at his back. Chris looked confused for a moment; the Kanima almost seemed to be laughing at him behind its blank stare, as Chris' legs gave away and he toppled over, unable to feel anything beneath his waist. His shirt began to get soaked in blood as the wound across his lower back bled. Allison shot an arrow into the middle of the Kanima's forhead, she walked forward, reached for another arrow, Scott saw her hand tremble slightly, as she released her last remaining arrow into its chest.

Chris was still mobile from his waist up; he got up on his forearms and began to painstakingly drag himself away. Scott paid him little attention; his eyes on the Kanima at it eyed Allison. Scott put himself between it and Allison, crouching on all fours. Enough feeling had return to his leg for him to weight on it, though he couldn't run on it. He snarling, letting the Kanima know that if it wanted Allison, it had to get through him. It regarded him with its emotionless and expressionless eyes and then glanced back at Chris, who was dragging himself toward one of the dead hunters, the one whom the Kanima had first killed. It fell on all fours and followed him. "No!" Allison shouted, shoving her way past Scott and running toward the Kanima, Scott tried to rush after her, but he was significantly slower, and unbalanced, on three legs. He saw her pull a knife out of her boot and jam it into the Kanima's back. It turned to face her, but she moved quickly, crouching before her father, knife out. The Kanima tilted its head to the side, swinging its tail, Scott wondered if the tail was precise enough to grab the knife from her hand.

He lowered himself closer to the ground and charged; tackling the Kanima, wrapping his arms around it's in a 'hug' to keep its claws away from his skin. They fell to the ground, and Scott scurried away, 'Did this thing ever tire?', Scott wondered, just as its tail wrapped around his good leg and jerked him off his feet. It flung him away; he did a few cartwheels as he flew over the ground, before smacking into a tree and falling to the ground, stunned. "Mmmrrrmmm" he moaned, pushing himself up, eyes narrowed. They were getting beaten up by the thing, and it showed no signs of stopping or leaving. He glanced up, left eye squinting slightly to keep the blood running down his forehead out. That's when he saw Isaac, Boyd, and Erica standing there, just standing, a few feet away, huddled with their pack mates for comfort. "Wha-" he began to ask, as Isaac came over and helped him to his feet. Erica and Boyd followed him. "What happened?" Erica asked, at the same time the Kanima let out one of its serpentine screeches. "That happened; it won't stop, or go away." Scott said. Isaac, Erica, and Boyd looked at one another, their gazed resting on Isaac. "We could use your help" Scott said. "We?" Isaac asked. Scott nodded, "Yeah, Chris is down, and Allison is trying to keep the Kanima away from him" he said, straightening up, he could feel his wounds already healing.

Erica and Boyd looked at Isaac, who seemed to be conflicted. "He did say go with Scott" he said finally. All three nodded and hurried to catch up with Scott, who was already heading back to the battle. The first thing he noticed was Allison, crouched on three limbs, a dagger in her right hand, she stood between her father and the Kanima. Scott raced back into the fray, grabbing the creature's tail and tugging it away. Isaac fell on all fours and tackled it. Erica and Boyd crouched on either side of the thing, snarling. Isaac looked up, caught Scott's eye, and nodded. They were in this together…

***Extremely short chapter, sorry guys... ***


	11. Don't Leave Me

**_*Disclaimer*_****__**** (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

**Chapter Eleven**

Lydia held her head high, trying to keep as much of her dignity as possible while stumbling around dead, damp leaves in high heel boots. She had her arms wrapped around herself, it was a bit chilly. She looked around, hoping to spot Stiles, or Scott; she just wanted to get out of the forest. Still trying to find someone to show her the way back to her car, she spotted a house in the distance. "Oh thank God" she breathing, rushing over to the building, if they lived in the middle of nowhere, then they must know how to get back to civilization.

Stiles ran through the dim forest, stumbled more than once or twice. He ran back to Derek's house, he could make his way around from there. And if Scott wasn't there… if Scott wasn't there… well then he'd have to call for him from there. He stumbled again, and looked up, breathing hard, in time to see Isaac get launched into a tree. He stood up and walked forward, Derek's house coming into view, as well as Scott, Erica, Boyd, and a dizzy Isaac crouched around the… the "Kanima" Stiles breath. It heard him, as did all the other supernatural beings. "Stiles! What are you doing here?" Scott cried out to him, before the Kanima wrapped its tail around his leg and dragged him down. It arched its tail, and Scott ended up suspended upside down. The Kanima looked at Stiles with its cold eyes. Stiles backed up, though his felt frozen, his eyes glued to the Kanima's. It hissed and fell back on all fours. Boyd tackled it, as you would a football player, grabbing it in a bear hug. Scott tumbled to the ground. Stiles looked around; noticing Allison crouching in front of her father, then noticing all the dead bodies, Gerard's being one of them.

'This was the house', Lydia thought, 'He came out from the grave here, and I helped him' she thought, her limbs freezing up as she remembered all her nightmares, all of them. She cried out at the memory of them, and buried her face in her hands. She stood like that for a minute, though she didn't cry. She took a few deep breaths and continued toward the house. She had to get out of the cold forest, and she wouldn't do it by crying. She kept walking toward the house, eyes on its rooftop.

Lydia was fairly close to the house when she heard the hisses, the snarls, the growls, the grunts. She kept walking, as her heart pound viciously in her chest, threating to either give out, or explode from her chest. Her breathing increased as she walked up to a scene right from a horror movie. A large, humanoid, reptilian creature stood in the middle of the clearing, while clawed, fanged, and hairy…. "Were-wolves?" Lydia mouth, werewolves, four of them, circled it. Allison crouched, a dagger in her hand, by her father, who lay sprawled on the ground, but conscious. On the opposite side of her stood Stiles, staring at the battle with her same horror, but less actual fear… for himself? Or for them? Either way, Lydia returned her attention to the yellow eyed were-wolves; they looked very familiar, even with the hairy faces, pointy ears, and fangs, in fact they looked very familiar. They looked like… Scott, Isaac, her lab partner, Erica, the seizure girl, and Boyd, the loner. She looked from Allison to the werewolves, none noticed her, and so she turned her attention to the reptilian creature. Even against four werewolves, it seemed to be winning. It moved rapidly, and used its tail almost like another arm. It had huge dripping claws on its hands, and the four werewolves seemed to be trying to stay away from them at all costs.

"Lydia?" Stiles said, surprise in his voice as he saw the most beautiful girl in the world standing on the other side of the supernatural battle. "Lydia!" he cried, his surprise quickly having turned into panic. She was staring at the Kanima…. in terror? Why didn't she run? "Lydia!" he cried again, walking toward her.

"Stiles, stop!" Scott called to his friend, when he noticed he seemed to be ready to walk into the middle of the battle. He'd get ripped to shreds! "Stiles!" Scott growled, as his friend picked up pace, running forward. That's when it hit him, he'd been so focused on the Kanima, he almost hadn't heard it…. Stiles had cried Lydia's name… He turned around, and noticed Lydia, standing on the opposite side of Stiles, staring at the Kanima intently, and looking like she was concentrating. The creature held all her focus. "Stiles, stop!" Scott shouted, though he was ignored. Erica tackled Stiles, held his arms behind him, and began to drag him away. His struggling, and the fact that Erica would be unable to fight while holding Stiles drew the Kanima's attention. It lunged at them, and Scott lunged for it, grabbing onto its tail and pulling it back. It whirled around fast enough for its movements to be a blur, even to his own eyes, and raised its claw to sink them into his neck, but Boyd managed to grab its arm, giving Scott enough time to get out of the way. "Stay out of the way, you lovesick fool!" Erica hissed, dumping Stiles on the ground. Stiles scrambled to his feet, looking from Erica to the battle. "Hmph" she said, turning back to look at the battle.

It was too strong, they couldn't stop it, they could hold it off, but for how much longer? Scott worried as he waiting for the Kanima to strike again. Boyd was already panting, and Isaac seemed to be hurt, the Kanima had flung him pretty hard into the tree. It would only be a matter of time before its claws sliced one of their necks, paralyzing them. Then it'd be three against one, and they'd have someone else to worry about… Allison wouldn't leave, she couldn't possibly drag her father away, and she wouldn't leave him here. She wouldn't listen to him, or even look at him. He didn't only have her to protect, Stiles had run right into the middle of the fight! And now Lydia was here too, which meant Stiles might try to do something stupid. He couldn't protect them all, and they couldn't hold the Kanima off much longer. He snarled in frustration. The Kanima's tail snaked forward, grabbing his neck, coiling, and dragging him off itself, Boyd threw himself at it, but it was faster. It gripped his neck, holding him up so his feet couldn't touch the ground.

Lydia breath quickly, she knew him, she did. It was like the dreams; she knew the information was there, it was just a bit fuzzy. But she did know him. She began to walk forward, hand outstretched; she just had to get a closer look. "Lydia!" she heard someone scream her name with fervor. She didn't pay attention, because at that exact moment, he looked at her. It had Scott by the neck, and the loner…Boyd, by the neck as well, its tail wrapped around it. Her lab partner, Isaac, seemed hurt; he glared at the creature, but seemed unable to help. Behind him, he could see Erica, the seizure girl who'd gotten the extreme makeover, holding back Stiles, who was struggling as if she were about to kill him. He seemed to be screaming, but she couldn't hear what he was saying. The lizard man looked as her curiously as she approached it, tilting its head. "I know you" Lydia said, unsure whether it had been aloud or not. It flung Boyd away; he landed on top of Isaac. Scott struggled, but she paid little attention to them, they all faded away, along with the noise, into meaningless backgrounds. "I _do _know you" Lydia said, her lip trembling. _Lydia, NO!_ She blinked, unsure if she'd thought that, or actually heard it. The Kanima opened its jaws, showing its sharp fangs. It flung Scott away with a flick of its tail, and lunged forward at the same time. _LYDIA!_ She gasped as its fangs sunk into her neck, her eyes wide, memories of Peter's attack flooding her mind, as well as all her nightmares and hallucinations since. She blinked, looking up at the creature, looking him in the eye. She _did _know him… "Jackson" she murmured, her eyes glistening, it looked at her quizzically as she uttered her ex-boyfriend's name, standing very still.

Stiles was frantic, Erica was actually losing her grip as the boy struggled and pulled, every inch of him hell-bent on putting himself between Lydia and the Kanima. "Lydia!" he cried again, as the Kanima stared at her, holding onto the back of her neck, and onto her back. It looked weirdly like a hug, except Lydia wasn't pulled close to its chest. Scott, limping slightly, dug his claws into the Kanima's back, Lydia crumpled on the ground in a limp heap. Scott flung the Kanima away, but Stiles didn't see how far or where it fell. He was staring at Lydia.

"Go" Chris said, giving his daughter a shove. "_Go_" he said, with more force this time. Allison looked at him, curiosity and fear in her eyes. "I'll be fine, your friend _needs_ you" Chris said, giving Allison another shove. Allison nodded numbly, glanced around to see how close the Kanima was, then rushed to her friend's side. Chris watched her go, then began to drag himself to one of his dead friend's body. He needed a gun, and this man hadn't been able to unload his entire gun before the Kanima killed him. Feeling was returning to his legs, though they still couldn't support his weight, they could barely twitch and wiggle.

Seeing Allison by the girl, Erica let Stiles go. He was running before her fingers completely lifted off his arms. She didn't think she had the heart to hold him back much longer anyways, there was too much pain in his voice, and she couldn't bear another minute knowing she was causing it by holding him from Lydia. She ran to Isaac's side, he was struggling to stand, grunting and growling, trying to sound as ferocious as he could, to mask his panic, pain, and weakness. She placed her arm on his, "Shh, come on, sit up" she said, wondering if something was broken. That wouldn't heal fast enough; she needed to know if Isaac needed her by him, if he needed protection.

Stiles fell to his knees at Lydia's side; the opposite one Allison knelt by. The hunter-girl was inspecting the wound; there was no need to check for a pulse, they could both see her rapidly rising and falling chest. "Lydia? Lydia, can you hear me?" Stiles asked, wanting to make sure she was okay. She glanced up at them in a daze; Stiles couldn't find any pain, fear, or panic in them. She looked almost calm, if not all there. Stiles gripped her hand, trying to keep her tied to the living. She moaned, and he was instantly at attention, hating himself for just how useless he was, he couldn't do anything to help. Even Allison could do more; she was already bandaging the wound. "Don't leave me" he all but whimpered, _Lydia_. Stiles struggled not to cry, at his hopelessness, at the girl he loved bleeding out at his feet, at all the weight that was on the shoulders of just a couple of teenagers, the weight that seemed to follow them around. It hurt all the worse when he remembered Lydia had already had to go through this once before, with Peter... That's when Stiles remembered. Peter was back… "Derek…"

Scott gripped the Kanima tight by its throat, and slammed its back into the ground, tightening his grip on its windpipe, snarling viciously. It took him a while to see the Kanima wasn't fighting back. It was hardly moving. Its eyes were staring at Lydia, with wonder, its tongue snaked out, licking its chin, where a dribble of Lydia's blood remained. Its eyes… On closer inspect, Scott saw they were now different. They had pupils, round and black pupils, instead of their regular slits… human pupils. There was white at the edge of its eyes, and its eyes no longer held the cold creature that was the Kanima behind them. They looked confused. Upon realizing this, Scott began to notice other things, its tail was limp on the ground, and was disappearing, its scales were fading away, and Scott could see its nose. Soon it looked more like a he, like Jackson. The more it looked like Jackson, the more recognition came into his eyes. He was nearly fully human when he finally found his voice. The eyes that all this time had been staring at Lydia suddenly widened with fear, with panic. "Lydia!" Jackson shouted, on his feet and rushing to her side. Scott was shoved aside easily; he was no longer trying to pin him down.

"Stay back!" Stiles warned, pretty much baring his teeth at the other boy. Jackson didn't listen; he only knelt beside Lydia and grabbed her hand in his and her forearm in his other hand. "Lydia?" he said, rubbing her hand. Stiles glared at him as if his pain and rage could burn Jackson alive, he hardly felt Allison's hand on his arm until she squeezed. He found her to be looking at him, her expression not one of comfort, but rather a serious one. She looked at Lydia, then at Stiles, then back at Lydia. Not understanding her point, Stiles looked at Lydia as well, to see her eyes were focused, and looking at Jackson. She opened her mouth, to try and speak, but was unable to. Jackson gripped her hand tighter, "Don't leave me Lydia" he said. Stiles didn't like, it seemed more like an order than a plea, at least it did to him.

"But how?" Isaac said, limping over to stand beside Scott. Erica helped Boyd to his feet and they went to stand by the other two werewolves as well. They were close enough to the two, possibly three, humans, but Scott made no move to go to Allison's side. He looked at the three werewolves beside him, he almost couldn't believe they had stayed by him, and fought the Kanima with him. They hadn't left him. "Lydia's immune" Scott said. Allison's eyes glanced up to look at him, "She passed it on to Jackson, when he bit her he must have gotten some of her blood in his mouth, in his system…." She said. Stiles looked around at everyone, "So, it took Lydia's death to save _Jackson_?" he said, venom in his voice, he clearly thought this was an uneven trade. "She's not dead yet, call an ambulance!" Allison said, returning her attention to her best friend. "What will we do about him?" Erica asked, jerking her chin toward Jackson. "He seems to be human…." was all Scott responded. "What if he really isn't though? What if he becomes the Kanima again tomorrow night?" Boyd asked, eyeing Jackson suspiciously. "We don't know that yet, and we can't know that now, we'll have to wait and see" Scott said, making it clear in his voice that No One would be attacking Jackson while he was human. Allison looked up at him, as if she felt that applied to her as well. Both stared at each other for a while, Allison with her lips pressed into a thin line. She broke her gaze after a moment, looking back at Lydia. 'My friend is more important, at this moment' she seemed to be saying. Scott wasn't sure she was the same person anymore…

***Okay, so I'm extremely busy right now, I get homework from nearly all my classes everyday. I only get around 5 minutes every morning to write[seriously] Sorry for the short, rushed chapter, but the next one will be longer, and more detailed, promise. =) ***

**P.S. Am I the only one who thought they were making a big fuss about Lydia beign immune because she{or her immunity} was the only thing that could cure werewolves, or Jackson? I honestly thought season 2 was going to end something like this, with Jackson attacking Lydia and becoming normal again.**


	12. This Is How It Ends

******__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

******__****Okay, so BTW, this chapter starts off where chapter nine left off and it ends at the same time chapter eleven does... All this is happening at the same time as chapters ten-eleven are. =)**

**Chapter Twelve**

Derek listened to Stiles feet pounding as he fled, their sound becoming distant as he put more and more space between them. He kept dragging himself, as fast as he could, the act degrading but necessary. Peter, of course, walked right behind him, easily keeping up, but choosing to follow, to see just how far Derek was willing to crawl on his belly, before finishing him off. Eventually, not long after Stiles' pounding feet ceased to make a sound his ears could capture, Peter tired of the game. His hand snaked forward, grabbing Derek's ankle and immediately halting his progress, Derek dug his fingers into the ground, but quickly realized he wasn't going anywhere. His grip tightened, his index and middle finger dug into the bottom half of Derek's calf, and he yanked the young Alpha back and flipped him onto his back with an easy flick of his arm. Derek stifled a snarl of pain as the newly healed skin on his back was ripped open once more by the arrows; he glared defiantly at his uncle, who smiled back so sweetly it was creepy, and rose, on his elbows and forearms, trying to keep the arrows from digging in deeper into his back, the skin was already healing once more. Letting go of his ankle, Peter walked forward and grabbed Derek's left shoulder. His claws dug into it, getting a secure hold, and he flipped Derek over, pinning his chest to the ground roughly. Derek struggled, though Peter had the upper hand in this situation.

"Tsk, tsk" Peter said. "Really Derek, just how suicidal are you? You of all people should know that if you didn't yank the arrows out, the skin would heal around them, and then you'd get to reopen the skin once you did pull them out" he said. Derek's eyes widened as he felt Peter grab one of those arrows, tighten his grip, and pulled the arrow out. Derek growled, his arm awkwardly attempting to retaliate, Peter sunk his claws deeper, "Then" he added, grabbing onto the other arrow, "You had to go ruin the fun and send your pack mates away, to find Scott. Oh, they'll still die, but it won't be as fun for me, I won't even get to see my Kanima slit their throats" Peter said, leaning down to hiss the last part into Derek's ear and at the same time pulling out the second arrow. Derek wanted to take a bite out of that face; he ground his teeth together at the pain of the other arrow tearing at his skin on the way out. "But that's not all, of course not, then you do this big show of crawling away, trying to distract my attention from poor, fragile, human boy, Stiles" Peter adds, gripping the final arrow. "Sending the boy running straight into Scott's arms, or, the remaining pieces of his arms" Peter said, ripping the last arrow out. Derek snarled at him, causing Peter to chuckle. "Honestly, Derek, you are either snarling, or growling, fangs out, ready to fight, you can't even get off the ground!" Peter sneered. Derek glared at him.

"You're wrong" Derek said. "A pack is more than enough against a single creature, even one mutated as the Kanima is" he said. "A real pack, perhaps, but you're little band of misfits more likely than not couldn't even take Scott on, much less the Kanima. Scott can fight it, but the Kanima won't tire, even the worse of wounds will only slow it momentarily. How long before he manages to paralyze them all, then returns for the kill?" Peter said his lips at Derek's ear. Derek's lips twitched, rising up to reveal his fangs. His right arm, the one not held in Peter's vice grip, shot up, claws sinking into the side of Peter's neck. Derek tugged downward, pulling Peter to the ground and pulling out of his uncle's grip. His claws slid out of Peter's neck and he crouched in front of his uncle, eyes glowing red, claws out, and fangs bared in a snarl; he was ready to fight. Peter chuckled and rolled back onto his feet, standing up. "Honestly, Derek, you think you can defeat me?" Peter said, rushing forward and tackling Derek to the ground. Derek managed to sink his claws into Peter's shoulder, and keep his grasp even as the air was knocked out of him. "I am older" Peter kept going, lifting Derek up by the throat and punching him, hardly wincing as Derek twisted his claws in Peter's shoulder, mostly in reaction to the punch that had just been delivered to his face. He glared at his uncle as he continued his small monologue "I am more experienced" Peter added, grabbing a fist full of Derek's hair and yanking his head back, so Derek's throat was exposed and vulnerable. Derek twisted his claws in Peter's shoulder and yanked, leaving five long gashes down his uncle's arm. At that, Peter _did_ wince, and Derek managed to pull away, stumbling. Peter glanced at his arm, assessing the damage, then looked back at Derek quickly, killing any hopes of a surprise attack. "I already killed one Alpha, and, as I recall, you're older sister had been an Alpha longer than you had" Peter said, taking a few calm steps forward.

Derek's eyes lit up with rage, fury causing his blood to boil, with wordless screeches and snarls, he rammed into Peter with all the force the young Alpha could muster, slamming his uncle into a tree and holding him there, wrapping his fingers around his throat. His lips trembled, the fangs hidden behind them begging to be unleashed. He looked fierce, which was why, when Peter started laughing once more, his lips stilled and covered his fangs once more. For a brief moment, he wondered if his uncle was insane; as Peter continued to laugh. "And… and _I _managed to get _you_ to send your pack, your allies, all of them, away, so I could have you all to myself" Peter said, smiling wickedly and slamming his knee into Derek's stomach with enough force to cause the younger werewolf to double over gasping and release Peter's neck. Taking his advantage, Peter backhanded Derek across the face, sending him sprawling on the ground, still trying to catch the breath that had been forced out of his lungs by Peter's knee. Peter walked over, kicked Derek so he fell onto his back, and placed his foot on Derek's chest and pressed down. "You're a fool" was all Peter said, standing in a victorious manner over his nephew.

Derek glared up at his uncle, unable to believe it had all be a part of his plan. Now he had Derek alone, all to himself, and it was all thanks to Derek himself. What was an Alpha without his pack? Nothing. He grunted, Peter's weight on his chest making it difficult to breath. Would it end like this? Would Peter kill him, and become Alpha, as he had done before with his sister? Would he go after Derek's pack? Try to kill them? Try to force them to join him? If given the option, which would they choose? He grunted again, his hands wrapped around Peter's ankle, trying to alleviate some of the pressure off his chest, his lungs were beginning to feel like they were on fire. Peter looked at Derek coldly and pressed down harder, causing Derek's eyes to widen and wonder if Peter meant to crush his chest in. That would be… an unpleasant way to die. Derek dug his claws, from both hands, into Peter's ankle. Peter just narrowed his eyes, until Derek's claws began to press against Peter's bone, with force. At that, Peter bent over and grabbed Derek's collar roughly, a slightly awkward position, considering his foot was still on Derek's chest.

"This" Peter said, in that soft, almost gentle voice of his "Is how you die" he said, as if reading his mind and feeling compelled to affirm his nephew's suspicions. "This" he added, "Is how it ends." He brought his hand back, ready to slash Derek's throat open as Derek had done to him months before. Derek tugged on Peter's ankle, his weak, oxygen deprived limbs having just enough strength to unbalance Peter, giving him enough movement to kick him off. Derek then rolled over onto his hands and knees, coughing and gasping, knowing he had to get away, he couldn't be caught on the ground once more. He rose on shaky legs and began to run, trying desperately to think of an advantage, anything, that he could use against the more experienced werewolf. He glanced over his shoulder; Peter was giving him a pity look, though he didn't seem to mean it. More like be believed Derek an imbecilic for delaying the inevitable. Though, if Derek wanted a chase… Peter flung himself forward, every bit as fast as his nephew. Derek zigzagged around trees, he tried to keep moving, but also stay away from his house, the direction his pack had gone, if they were truly up again the Kanima then they had their hands full. He would not drag his recently brought back to life uncle into their fray. He made a sharp turn around a tree, keeping his uncle in his line of sight, waiting for an opportunity, just as Peter was. Their rapid movements looked almost like a weird dance, Derek moved one way, Peter moved another, eyes always on each other. One could say they were circling each other, expect no one was actually moving in a circle.

Derek's muscles tensed as Peter turned and clawed his way half up a tree, and twisted to face Derek below him, the claws in his right hand sunk into the bark for support. Derek stopped running at the same time Peter flung himself down on him, slamming into his chest and knocking him to the ground. This time, however, Derek was determined not to become pinned under the other's weight. They rolled, each snarling in each other's face, fighting for the upper hand, claws dug into their opponent's arm or shoulder. Derek kicked at Peter, trying to dislodge him while keeping his grip, then finally gave that up and simply kicked him off. Peter flew back, landing, ever agile, on his feet. Derek bulldozed into him, trapping him in a bear-hug, and slamming him into a tree. The tree shuddered and groaned and Peter winced slightly, a trickle of blood was visible from the corner of his mouth. "Now it's getting interesting, isn't it?" he said, a low growl rumbling deep in Derek's throat in response, he removed his right hand from Peter's arm and instead gripped his throat. Claws sunk as deep as possible into Peter's shoulder/chest, Derek flung him away, feeling the skin tear as it was ripped from his grasp.

Peter landed on his feet, slightly unbalanced and almost falling on one knee, but recovered quickly enough. His hand flew up to cup the wound on his shoulder, which now bled profusely. He looked up at Derek, a slight, sarcastic smile on his lips as his nephew tackled him again, his face twisted in fury. Peter was slammed to the ground, Derek standing over him, tall, shoulders straight despite his injures, like an Alpha. His fingers twitched, claws itching to rip into his enemy's throat and end the life of whatever had dared defy him. Peter laughed at the sight, wincing slightly as the motion created by his chuckling caused his ribs to hurt. "You're no Alpha" Peter said, taking a hold of Derek's ankle and tugging, unbalancing him. Quick to take his chance, Peter was up on his feet, bulldozing into Derek once more, the two tussled and rolled, Peter favoring his rib cage, wincing slightly at certain motions, and Derek having a slight limp, while blood trickled down his wrist and hand from a deep gash in his shoulder. They were both still healing as they fought.

Peter grabbed Derek's throat and slammed him in to the ground. Not giving him a chance to recuperate, his did it again, then again, determined to knock the breath out of Derek's lungs, his grip tight on Derek's throat, to prevent new breaths from being taken. "Don't you see Derek, you can't defeat me" he said, sinking his claws into Derek's shoulder/chest. "You're hardly an Alpha, regardless of your eyes' color" he said, twitching his fingers a bit. Derek glared at him with all the strength his oxygen deprived muscles could muster. Peter's lips twitched in a small smile, knowing Derek would be snarling and spatting if he could. He picked Derek up, by the throat, until Derek's toes barely brushed the ground. He then flung him away, his nephew flying through the air in awkward cartwheels. His back slammed into a tree, his head snapping back to hit the rough bark as well. A sickening crack was heard as the younger werewolf hit the trunk, his body going slack. An unnatural thud sounded out as his limp body fell back onto the ground.

Peter crouched down by his nephew, who was face down on the ground, eyes closed. He could hear small, pitiful groans and moans coming from the unconscious Alpha, the only thing that truly betrayed just how hurt he was. Well, except for the fact that Peter could smell all the blood, the hair at the back of Derek's head was becoming wet and matted from the fresh blood oozing out.

Derek squeezed his eyes shut tighter, then slowly opened them, a groan escaping his lips. His entire backside hurt, as well as the back of his head. He tried to move his arms, to pick himself up. They felt so heavy, but from sheer determination he dragged them up along the ground so that they rested by his chest. He then attempted to push himself up, push-up style. His limbs trembled; causing his entire body to shake at the effort, then gave way. He just didn't have the strength anymore. He heard a sigh and a felt a hand grab his shoulder.

Peter picked Derek up, turned him over, and sat him up again a tree trunk. Derek looked like he wanted to fall right over again. He slumped again the tree trunk, legs bent a bit in front of him, his arms hanging limply, palms up, the back of his hands resting lightly on the ground. His head leaned a bit to the side; it seemed all the blood loss was finally getting to him. Peter crouched down beside him, "It all ends here" he said. "You put up quite a fight, Derek, you really did" he said. Derek made no attempt to move, but rolled his eyes over to focus on Peter's face. "But you were never going to win…" Peter continued. "If you weren't still sore about me killing your sister, and using you to come back to life, and if you hadn't stolen my rank, I wouldn't have to do this. I would have wanted an experienced, born-werewolf, such as yourself, in my pack" he said. "I didn't steal it" Derek breathe, as if it took all his strength, "Laura… was the rightful Alpha. You took it from _her_" he said, still seeming to struggle with his words. Peter shook his head, "I had to get revenge, you two certainly weren't. If I hadn't been so burned from the fire, I would have become the Alpha" he said. Derek just glared at him, looking quite pale. "To tell you the truth, I think I'm going to have to start from scratch. Scott was impossible to convince, even when he had just gotten the bite… and your pack won't be too happy with your death, or with me and my part in it" Peter mused, starring off into space, one hand on Derek's shoulder, though he clearly wasn't going anywhere. "I wonder… does a pack's loyalty survive after their Alpha is gone? Dispersed, the young misfits might be easy to convince" he said. "….think of your sister as lucky" he added. "She never even saw it coming" he said, standing up. His nails slowly transformed into claws. "And I won't be cutting you in half" he added. He looked down at Derek. "It all ends here" he repeated, almost as if to himself. "Goodbye Derek" he said. He raised his clawed hand up high, eyes never leaving his nephew face. Then he brought it down, fast… At the same time Derek's hand shot up, Derek leaping up a bit. His nephew's claws sunk deep into Peter's throat at the same time Peter slashed his. Peter's eyes widened with disbelief and he crumbled to the ground in a heap.

Derek could feel himself healing, even as Peter spoke, he was healing. He was certain Peter would be killing those from his pack, Scott was a threat, and Isaac was too loyal. He couldn't do anything about it; however, he wasn't sure if he was strong enough for a howl to carry all the way to his house. And what would it warn anyways? Run? They wouldn't understand what they were running from. Hide? Where, from what? My crazy, back-from-the-dead uncle is going to murder you all? Not really possible…. Then… then Peter started to bring up Laura… his own niece, who he'd murdered in cold blood…just to become Alpha. Rage bubbled up in Derek. That had been his sister! One of the three who had survived the fire… one of the last Hale… He glared up at Peter, his claws sliding out. He watched Peter prepare to strike, and tensed up. Peter's clawed hand came rushing down and Derek leaped up, as much as his broken body would allow, surprising his uncle and slamming his claws deep into Peter's throat, until he felt bone, and slicing up. Peter gurgled, eyes widened, blood flooding out of the large wound, too much blood. Derek fell back down in a heap, still supported in an upright position by the tree trunk behind him. He watched Peter fall, his limbs just giving out, landing on his side. He took a few ragged breathes, but couldn't heal fast enough, he jerked then was still.

Derek's lips pulled up in a half smile, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. He then grimaced; he hadn't noticed the wound in his throat. Peter had still managed to slice down from the top left corner where his neck and jaw met, down to the right side of his collar bone. His throat had a huge diagonal gash; the collar of his shirt was already damp with blood. Derek's breathing became labored, his body fighting to heal him, it would fight till his last breath, he knew. He'd already lost so much blood, however, and healing took energy, strength, two things he was fresh out of. Derek leaned his head back on the tree trunk, looking up at the sky, the moon filling his vision. He'd done it, he'd defeated Peter, and he'd given his pack a chance. Now all they had to worry about was the Kanima but… but he couldn't help them with that, not anymore. At least he'd been able to do this. He winced as a slight movement on his part caused pain to shoot up and down his back, and slice up his rib cage.

His legs stretched out in front of him, he knew if he tried to get up, he'd topple forward, and wouldn't have the strength to even sit back up. He preferred the dignity of sitting up, even if it was entirely the tree's trunk which supported him. Head brushing the bark as he moved, he kept the moon in his sights. He could almost hear them, all gathered, all howling, his pack, his real pack. He gave the moon another half-smile, he'd done it, he really had. 'That was for you, Laura' he thought, closing his eyes briefly and savoring his family's memory. His breathing turned ragged, he was soon panting as he tried to get in another painful breath. This was it. He glanced at his uncle, limp and bloody on the ground, then back at the moon, ignoring the request from deep inside him, his mind, the request for him to close his eyes, just for a second, and let go. "Yes" he said, not sure if he was speaking to his uncle, himself, or the moon. "It _does_ all end here" he repeated his uncle's words. Then… then the last Hale's eyes widened, drinking in the moon's light for a last time. His breathing increased as his body fought, his instincts fought. It lasted but a moment, then Derek's head bowed down, chin to chest, and his body slumped slightly, relaxing. His haggard breathing was faint, chest falling and rising rapidly.

Falling and rising

Falling and rising

Falling…


	13. Could It Be?

******__*****Disclaimer* (I do not own any of the characters or locations, nor do I claim to own them, just this particular story. Teen Wolf belongs to MTV... and others)**

**Chapter Thirteen**

The ambulance had been called, and given directions to the burned out shell-of-a-house that was Derek's home. Stiles pressed his knuckles to his mouth, looking at Lydia. Jackson was still by her side, not letting go of her hand or forearm. Allison had pulled him away from her. He'd only complied for Lydia's sake, not for Jackson's. Lydia's eyes focused when Jackson squeezed her arm, or spoke to her. With Jackson by her side she looked strong enough to overcome her wound. Lydia had to survive, she _had_ to, and if Jackson being near her allowed her to hold on until the paramedics came, then Stiles would stay away. Allison had gone to check on her father. Scott had stayed with Isaac, Erica, and Boyd; the four werewolves were huddled together, possibly discussing Jackson's future, and what to do if he turned again. Stiles watched him speak to Lydia, much too softly to be heard by human ears at this distance. He wanted to go choke the life from him. He didn't care if he hadn't known what he was doing, he didn't care that he had the Kanima at the time, Jackson had hurt Lydia… and in Stiles' book, that couldn't be forgiven.

"Hey" Scott said, placing his hand on Stiles' shoulder, causing him to jump slightly. "You okay?" he asked his best friend, squeezing his shoulder reassuringly. The worry, pain, and panic in Stiles' eyes spoke for itself. Stiles seemed to know this, for he didn't answer, he just returned his attention to Lydia. "I forgot to tell you, though it's useless information now" Stiles said, not taking his eyes off the girl he loved. "Peter controls the Kanima, or controlled, now that it seemed Jackson is cured" Stiles said. Scott didn't like the bitterness in his friend's voice. "Yeah, I know. I saw when he took control, right after he killed Gerard. Gerard controlled it at the time" Scott said. "Gerard controlled the Kanima?" Stiles asked, though his voice said he wasn't truly interested. "Yeah… wait, how did you know about Peter controlling the Kanima…?" Scott asked his friend. "… How do you know he's back from the dead?" he asked. Stiles nodded slowly, "Yeah, I saw him… earlier… when he came for Derek... Derek!" Stiles said, his voice getting the first dose of emotion since he'd been torn from Lydia's side. He turned around to grip Scott's shoulders roughly. "Derek! He's… Scott, He's… he's fighting Peter!" he said. He hardly noticed the pack had come closer at the mention of their Alpha until Isaac spoke. "Yes, he ordered us away, he… he told us to come to you" he said the last part softly. Scott looked from Stiles to Isaac, briefly thinking that if it hadn't been for Derek's order, the Kanima would have most likely killed him, Allison, and Chris. "Scott, we, we have to help him" Stiles said, shaking his friend slightly to make him focus. "But Derek told us to stay away" Erica said, doubtfully. "No, you don't understand! After you left, Peter kicked the crap out of him. He was going to win… he was going to kill him, then me… but Derek… Derek managed to focus Peter's attention completely on him again, giving me a chance to get away." Stiles said. "He, he saved my life, Scott. We can't let him take Peter on alone."

Isaac's eyes widened as he learned his Alpha was in danger. His instincts surfaced, his instincts to protect his Alpha, at all costs. He wasn't sure if it was his own loyalty, or the instincts, that made him grip Stiles' shirt. "Why didn't you tell us?!" he said, having enough control so as to not wolf-out on Stiles. Before Scott could tell him to calm down, or pull him off his friend, Isaac whirled around and bolted. It was clear he was heading straight for where he had last seen Derek. Erica followed seconds later; Boyd glanced at Scott and Stiles, then raced toward his pack, right beside Erica in seconds. Isaac left them behind, quickly disappearing into the trees.

Scott stared in the direction the young werewolves had gone. Peter was dangerous, Peter was deadly. It had taken them all to defeat him the first time. What would happen to Derek's young pack? They couldn't even fight against him, Scott remembered. He couldn't let them go alone. He couldn't… they might get hurt. He looked at Stiles, who nodded, knowing the direction Scott's thoughts had taken. "Yeah… yes… Go Scott" Stiles said, glancing from Scott, to Lydia. Scott nodded, though he hesitated, looking at Allison. She seemed to sense his eyes on her, for she turned to look at him. They held each other's gazes, Scott not finding what he was looking for. "Scott? Scott, man, Go!" Stiles said, giving his friend a small shove. Scott returned his attention to Stiles, nodded rapidly, then took off.

Allison slowly stood up; watching the werewolves, one by one, take off. Isaac had taken off like a bullet, making her wonder. Erica and Boyd had also followed, though neither had the urgency that had been in Isaac's gait. What really clued her in, however, was Scott. She knew that look in his eyes, that look only meant one thing. If you added Isaac, Erica and Boyd into the picture… you only got one result. Derek. She wondered briefly in he'd called them; he was the Alpha after all… She wondered if Scott had joined the pack. Was he answering Derek's called as well? Her eyes narrowed, 'No matter' she thought, tightening her grip on her bow. She'd said she was going to kill Derek tonight, and she _was_ going to kill Derek tonight. It had been a promise. She dropped Scott's gaze and looked around, scanning the ground. The Kanima had pulled out all the arrows she'd emptied into its back and chest, a lot of them were still in one piece, they were still good. "Dad, are you okay?" Allison asked, finding a pile of four arrows, three still good, on the ground in a bloody mess. "Yeah" her father said, sitting up. "The numbness is pretty much gone. I think I'll be able to put weight on them soon" he said. "Sooo, so you're going to be okay?" Allison asked. "Huh? Of course, I'll be fine" her father said, looking at her curiously. "Good" Allison said, standing up straight; hand on her father's shoulder. "What's the matter?" her father asked, grabbing onto her wrist. "There's something I got to take care of" she said, as Scott bound away. She pulled from her father's grasp and walked over to the arrows, picking them up and putting them in her quiver. She lucked out, finding to more on accident, and grabbed those too. She then began to jog in the direction she'd seen the four werewolves go, knowing very well she could track them.

Stiles was once again looking at Lydia, cursing at the ambulance, and hospitals in general, wondering when in hell they would be getting here. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Allison jog away. He turned to look at her, noticing her quiver was once more stocked with arrows, and also noticing she left in the exact direction that Scott had. He watched her go, wondering what she was up to just as his human ears picked up the cry of an ambulance….Lydia's ambulance. He returned his attention to the girl, noticing the flashing lights that also announced the paramedics' arrival. To his left Chris was standing up, using the tree for support as he tensed out his legs. Jackson looked up at the arrival of the ambulance, squeezing Lydia's hand and murmuring things of comfort. Stiles' eyes glistened, but he began to back away. Lydia would be loaded into the ambulance, she'd be taken to the hospital, and she'd get better. She _would_. He wished to go with her, but knew that Jackson would be given that privilege. He would go visit Lydia as soon as he could, then not leave her side until she got better, 'That's a promise' he thought…. But… but right now he had to go. He continued to back up, then turned and ran in the direction five others had gone before him.

Scott skid to a stop, looking around. Blood. All he smelled was blood, it was fresh too. It covered the ground; it was splattered on the trees, dripping off scattered leaves. He glanced around, turning several times to take in the scene. There had been a fight here, that was obvious, and it had been recent too. 'Well duh' Scott thought, 'The battle probably started around the time Isaac and the gang made it back to Derek's house.' That was recent, extremely recent, that made Scott wonder, in a way that gave him chills, why it was so quiet? He couldn't hear anything. When two werewolves fought, everyone knew. He should be able to hear growls, snarls, trees splitting and cracking as one of them was punched into its trunk. But it was all silence. Where had they gone? Had they moved the battle? He refused to believe the fight was over, it wasn't enough time for it to be over. He walked forward, looking at the trees, and the ground, trying to find anything that might lead him to the two werewolves' location.

_Thump thump, thump thump. _Isaac flint from one spot to another, never lingering long, looking much like a hummingbird, a lost hummingbird. He snarled in frustration and ran back to the first tree he had inspected, the one they had left Derek by. 'I should have stayed by him' Isaac thought, glaring at the tree. Thump thump, thump thump. He had no idea how to find Derek. 'He might me in trouble, trying to keep the crazy older were-wolf from us, and I… I'm so useless I can't even track and find him!' Isaac thought, claws sliding out as he took a swipe at a tree trunk. Some pack mate he was… "Isaac?" He heard Scott's voice calling and looking up, staring at Scott's silhouette. "Scott?" he answered, as the other boy came over. "Did you find him?" they both asked at the same time. Isaac shook his head at the same time Scott answered, "No." "He was right here, I'm sure… I swear. This is where we left him" Isaac said, glaring at the tree. "He couldn't have gone far, come on" Scott answered, squeezing Isaac's shoulder before walking off.

"Got anything?" Isaac asked Boyd, who came bounding back with Erica at his side. "No" Boyd answered. "He's not around here… should we howl?" Erica asked. Isaac hadn't thought of that. "Guys" Scott called, the three werewolves quickly bounding over. "We can track him; we can track both of them. There's more than enough blo- … blood, from them both, for us to pick up their scent and track it" he said, bringing his nose down close to some that had been smudged on the ground. He squeezed his eyes shut, then took a deep breath in through his nose. Isaac's lip curled up, but he too got down and began to sniff at some droplets of blood. Boyd and Erica looked at each other, then walked over to a tree trunk and began to sniff at the blood that had been splattered on it, at about shoulder level. "This _is _a lot of blood…" Boyd commented. "It's fine, Derek can heal" Isaac answered quickly, straightening up. Scott glanced at him, "Got it?" he asked, receiving a nod from Isaac. "Okay then, let's go" Scott said.

It was a slow process. They'd catch a whiff of what they were tracking, more blood splattered on the ground, on leaves, branches, or trees, but never Derek. They'd inspect the new blood, catch its scent so as to be reminded they were on the right track, then follow the smell once more, only to be lead to another scene of crushed twigs and branches, cracked bark, more blood, but no Derek. They'd just find another empty battle scene, inspect it, take in the smells, then move on. Isaac was beginning to get impatient. "This is getting us nowhere!" he growled, head snapping up to glare at Scott who was busy sniffing at a tree trunk. Upon doing this he caught a glimpse over Scott's shoulder, around the tree trunk, and at the body slumped against a tree trunk, a few yards away. "Derek?!" he shouted, bolting forward.

Allison traveled quickly, tracking the four werewolves was easy, they weren't trying to avoid detection at all. They had made a bee-line for Derek's position; it was as simple as following a yellow brick road. She found them sniffing at trees and leaves, quickly realizing they didn't know where Derek was. She hung back, downwind, not having to wait long before Isaac said "Derek?!" and bolted forward. 'Bingo' Allison thought, stepping out from behind a tree trunk, pulling an arrow back, string taunt.

Boyd and Erica's heads snapped up from something they were sniffing at on the ground, in time to see Isaac zip away. They stood up, tensing, ready to follow. "Stay where you are" said a steady voice. Scott turned slowly, to come face to face with Allison, her hair a bit windblown, her face emotionless, her bow in her hand, the string pulled taunt, with a bloody arrow pointed at Erica and Boyd. "Allison-" Scott said, taking a step forward. Allison pointed the arrow at him, "Don't try anything Scott" she said, "Just… just don't. I'm _going _to finish this, tonight" she said. Once she was sure no one was moving, she turned to look in the direction Isaac had gone. "Allison" Scott repeated pain in his voice. 'Don't do this' he thought, this was Allison, this was _his _Allison. She wouldn't… she couldn't…

It was Derek, slumped against a tree trunk, so very still. Isaac didn't even notice the lump on the ground at Derek's feet; he leaped over it and came to crouch beside his fallen Alpha, his heart thundering in his chest as adrenaline washed over his entire system. _Thump thump, thump thump, _his heart pound. "Dere-" he started, reaching out to touching his shoulder. His fingers stopped short from brushing the leather jacket as he heard Allison's voice. His claws slid out, his ears grew pointy, his fangs elongated, and his ears glowed and he whirled around and snarled a warning, crouching protectively in front of Derek, his eyes narrowed and fierce, his body partially obscuring Derek from view. Allison had the arrow pointed at him, though her eyes slid over to Derek. Isaac snarled, ready to launch himself forward, the instinct to protect his Alpha nearly stronger than the knowledge that Allison was too far to attack, the arrow would be quicker. Boyd growled, tensing, ready to let himself at whatever was threating his Alpha, and his pack mate. "No!" Scott shouted, crouching down, eyes glowing. _Thump thump, thump thump_, his heart pound like crazy, but he wasn't about to let _anybody_ hurt Allison, and would stop anyone who tried, even those who had stood beside him against the Kanima. The two werewolves glared at each other, while Allison stared from Isaac to Derek, squinting slightly. Something wasn't right…

Stiles was panting for breath. Like a dog. He was pretty much gasping, trying to will the oxygen into his lungs faster. Allison was fast. Allison was in good shape, much better shape than a lacrosse player who's position was 'the bench.' Stiles raced after the girl, though she wasn't going at top speed, and was looking at the ground and her surrounding frequently, she was still much faster than him. He pushed himself to his top speed, which, of course, drained his energy pretty quickly. Allison was pacing herself, and was still going at the same speed while Stiles was leaning over by a tree trunk, arms hugging his sides. Still gasping for breath, he continued forward, at a much slower pace, as in 'pretty much walking' pace. He found Scott and the wolf squad just as Allison popped up from behind a tree, bow in hand, and said "Stay where you are." He looked at the confrontation, then turned his head quickly when he heard a snarl, jumping slightly, until his eye sight focused enough to be able to tell it was Isaac, and not Peter, who was making the vicious sounds. No one paying him any heed, Stiles walked forward, eyes squinted a bit. Isaac was crouching protectively in front of someth- someone…. Someone in a leader jacket, with a thick head of black hair, someone who was slumped up against a tree trunk… someone who was unnaturally still. Stiles blinked, his breathing quickening slightly. _Thump thump, thump thump_, his heart rate rose, with no warning. His eyes trailed down, gazing first at Derek's still form, then at Isaac all tensed up and ready to fight, then finally at the body lying in a crumbled heap at Derek's feet, a body just as equally still. "Guys?" he said, gulping as something rose in his throat. "Guys…"

Scott reluctantly lifted his gaze off of Allison and turned to look at his best friend, not even jumping at the unexpected sound of his voice. Stiles looked more than a little sick, his face pale. "Guys…" he repeated, "Look" he said, pointing in the direction of Isaac. Scott looked, following Stiles' finger, looking for whatever made him look so stricken. That's when he spotted it, _thump thump, thump thump_, the moon's light more than enough for his eyes to clearly see the body by Derek's feet, more than enough for him to recognize that hair, those clothes, more than enough for him to see just how still the body was, more than enough for him to know it was Peter.

Isaac, looking confused, followed Scott's gaze. His eyes widened when he saw the body and he jumped back, on all fours, looking very much like a startled cat. _Thumpthump, thumpthump_. He truly hadn't seen it, he had been so hell bent on protecting Derek, he hadn't noticed it, his brain had dismissed the information as useless. Now he couldn't stop looking at it, recognizing the body as the werewolf who's cornered them in the forest not too long ago. Was he… was that a dead body? He took a breath and, pulse incredibly loud in his ears, focused back on Allison, who still had the arrow pointed at Derek, looking as if she was trying with all her might to get her human eyes to see better in the moon's light, and at this distance. Isaac quickly put himself between his Alpha and the girl's arrow again. His eyes slid to look at Scott for a second, knowing very well his priority was to protect Allison… because Scott wasn't part of the pack, he never was. Well then, Isaac wasn't going to let anyone come near his Alpha when he was down, not even Scott's _girlfriend_.

Boyd and Erica made a move toward Isaac, Erica's eyes wide as she recognized the figure with the bowed head as her Alpha. Allison turned to look at them, fingers shifting a bit on her bow. "Allison" Scott said softly. "Allison they're… he's… Peter's dead, and Derek… Derek's hurt...bad" he said, knowing that even with her limited vision, she'd already guessed it, she'd been trying to conform it with her eyes, but not even squints had allowed her to see what the rest of them could. "Allison… Allison, please" Scott begged, his eyes wide and pleading. She couldn't…the Allison he knew wouldn't…not while knowing the situation… Allison met his eyes, for a second, just for a second, her gaze as pained as his. She lowered her bow slightly, until the arrow pointed at the ground. Boyd and Erica bolted forward, right past her, rushing to their Alpha's side. She didn't look at them, just held Scott's gaze.

Stiles looked at the interaction between Allison and Scott, Scott breaking away first. He looked at the ground, face turned away from her, then he walked, rather quickly, to where the three werewolves crouched.

Isaac watched Scott jog over and bared his teeth instinctively, not wanting anyone near his Alpha. Erica and Boyd tensed beside him. Scott slowed to a walk and held his hands up, looking Isaac right in the eyes. A couple of heartbeats later, Isaac relaxed, he knew Scott wouldn't hurt Derek, that didn't mean the werewolf inside him liked another werewolf, one not in the pack, by his Alpha. "The other werew- Peter… Peter is…dead?" he asked slowly, _thump thump, thump thump_, his heart betrayed his soft voice. Scott turned his head to look at the heap, at the pool of blood around his neck and throat. "Yeah" he said slowly, regrettably, "Yeah, he's dead" he said.

Chris called for help, not back-up, the danger had passed, but three hunters, three good men, were down, as was his father, as soon as Allison was gone. It had to be cleaned up before the police came poking at scene. Still uncertain over whether he should trust his legs or not, Chris dragged his comrads out of view of the approaching ambulance, just enough to be out of sight, finishing just as the ambulance parked. The paramedics carefully placed Lydia on the stretcher, Jackson was allowed to go with them and was handed a blanket to… cover himself. One of the paramedics looked Chris over, asking if he needed to come as well. Chris shook his head, swearing it looked worse than it was. They, of course, wanted to know how Lydia had acquired her injury, knowing he had to stay here; Chris swore he hadn't seen anything. They were clearly not convinced, but had a girl bleeding out on a stretcher and couldn't stick around to poke for more information. Chris watched them drive off, knowing the police would be there momentarily. They had to clean up the scene, now.

Stiles walked slowly over to where all the werewolves stood or crouched, walking around Peter's body, _thump thump, thump thump_, unable to escape glancing, however momentarily, at the body. It was clear what he had died from, he had a very deep, very wide, very big wound on his throat, it looked as if Derek had jammed his entire hand in there. _Thump thump, thump _thump. There was enough blood pooled under it to lead Stiles to believe Peter had bleed out pretty quickly, the wound loosing way to much blood, way too fast. Peter had probably died quickly, not long after the blow was delivered. Stiles suppressed a shudder, though his face held no sympathy for the werewolf that had nearly killed Lydia, and had threated to kill him, as well as the rest of Derek's pack, probably would have too, if it hadn't been for… "Derek?" he heard Isaac say. He turned his head and looked at the four werewolves, all staring intently at Derek.

Stiles took in Derek's appearance. He was slumped again the tree trunk, leaning heavily on it. His arms dangled limply at his sides, palms facing upward, his right hand was red with partially dried blood from his fingertips down to the pads beneath each finger. 'Huh, I was right' Stiles thought, 'Derek really did jam his entire hand, or nearly his entire hand, into Peter's neck'. His legs were stretched out in front of him, slightly bent. His chin was to his chest, head bowed, face obscured by shadows. He had a wound, or wounds, on his shoulder, there were cuts on his brow and cheek. He, because Derek's head was bowed the way it was, could see the hair on the back of Derek's head was matted with blood, and, upon closer inspection, he could see Derek's shirt, the collar and chest area, was soaked in blood. Stiles crouched down on one knee, his right hand on his right thigh for balance, and looked at Derek's face. Derek had a cut on the bridge of his nose; he looked like he'd been punched in the face, or had a knee slammed into his face. A trickle of blood came from the corner of his mouth down his jaw and chin. All in all, there was no doubt that Derek was in a pretty bad shape, or that he had killed Peter. His eyes glanced at Scott, who was inspecting Derek was well, to Isaac, whose face was twisted with the roller coaster of emotions, of concern, that came with seeing his Alpha like this, to Erica and Boyd, who were in each other's arms for comfort.

_Thump thump, thump thump_. "Derek?" Isaac repeated, a bit softer, his blood pounding in his ears, his Alpha didn't respond, he didn't even twitch. Could it be? The pounding sound of Isaac's own pulse was muffled by the ringing in his ears. Scott placed his hand on Isaac's shoulder, which sagged as if the weight of Scott's hand was one pound too many. "He's… he's…" Isaac said. "He's the reason we're all still alive" Stiles said loudly, causing everyone to look at him. "All of us" Stiles repeated, getting a head tilt from Isaac. Erica's eyes looked misty, she'd never seen a dead body before, or anyone hurt to the level these two were. Boyd tightened his embrace, rubbing her arm comfortingly. She leaned into his chest, and the curve of his arm, though her breathing was still rapid and frightened. What was a pack without an Alpha? Nothing.

Allison blinked and turned to look at her father, who was breathing hard, but looked well. He was accompanied by one more hunter. "The ambulance came" he said softly, "Lydia's on her way to the hospital, if she isn't there already" he added. Apparently he didn't say it softly enough, because three pairs of glowing eyes turned on the hunters, and two pairs which didn't. The hunter beside Chris raised his weapon at the sight of the hostile were-wolves, but Allison stopped him, placing a hand on his pistol and pushing the barrel to the ground. "No" she said. "Leave them be." He looked at her, and she returned his gaze, "Go" she said, "We can't have the police finding four body's with claw marks and Kanima venom in them" she said, though she knew her father wouldn't have come here unless he'd left someone behind to take care of just that. The hunter knew that she knew this too, for he left without another argument.

Chris looked at his daughter, then at the pack of were-wolves. "Peter's dead" Allison offered the explanation, "Gerard's death has been avenged, as has Kate's again" she continued. "We have nothing to do here anymore" she said, "We should go." Chris looked from her, then back at the were-wolves again, eyes falling on the heap on the ground, recognizing it as Peter's body, then at the figure that was partially obscured by three were-wolves. "Is that…" Chris said, squinting his eyes. "I said, _let's go_" Allison repeated, turning her eyes on her father, they glistened slightly. "Mom's death has been avenged too" she said, looking at the ground. Chris took a deep breath, then leaned forward and kissed his daughter on the forehead. "I'm proud of you" he said, before walking away.

Allison pressed her lips together, 'I'm not doing this for you, or me' she thought, looking up slowly to meet Scott's eyes, the only were-wolf whose eyes weren't glowing, who wasn't looking at her with complete hatred. Even Stiles wasn't giving her the friendliest of looks, he looked more like he was disgusted, disappointed. "I'm sorry…" Allison, feeling her body just going through the motions, her voice void of feeling, "…for your loss." She then turned around, and walked after her father, leaving the were-wolves, and Stiles, alone to grieve.

Scott watched Allison go, and didn't chase after her, didn't even try, didn't even tense up. He just took a deep breath, till his chest felt about to burst, and let it out again, turning to look at Derek again. _Thump thump, thump thump_. Erica's mascara was running a bit at the edges, she gripped Boyd's arm tightly for support. "She's wrong" Isaac said, swaying a bit. _Thump thump, thump thump_. "He's not… Derek doesn't… He's gotten out of worse, hasn't he?" Isaac asked, turning his fevered eyes on Scott. Scott looked at Isaac, complete honesty in his eyes, "I… I don't know" he said, shrugging. "I think… I don't know." He closed his eyes, not wanting to see the pack's faces as the realization sunk in. What did they feel, knowing their leader, the one who's given birth to their werewolf side and instincts, was gone? How did _he _feel, knowing Derek had killed Peter to keep his pack safe, to keep Stiles safe, to keep him safe? He let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding and looked up at Stiles. His friend's eyes looked almost emotionless, but Scott knew better. It almost seemed Stiles felt guilty…

Scott could hear nothing but he's own excited breathing, fast and harsh, the same as Isaac's labored breathing, and Erica's, and Boyd's. Everyone's heart was pounding, racing in their chests, the sound filled Scott's ears. He knew it flooded the other's senses as well. He took in a deep breath, trying to slow his breathing, and looked at Derek. _Thump thump, thump thump_. A shadow passed from overhead, a bird perhaps, briefly raking over Derek's body. Scott tensed as his vision swore to have seen Derek's chest move, ever so slightly, but definitely having had moved. Could it be? _Thumpthump, thumpthump_. 'That's not possible' he thought, though he strained to hear something, Derek's heartbeat, his breathing. All he could hear was the pounding of _everyone else's _hearts, everyone else's breathing. He stared at Derek with more intensity than his eyes were used to, he'd have pricked his ears if possible. He couldn't detect anything, not over the roar coming from inside of the four people beside him.

_Thump thump, thump thump_

_Thump thump thump thump_

_Thumpthump, thumpthump_

_Thumpthump, thumpthump_

**_Thumpthump-thumpthump_**

"Quiet!" he snarled, feeling adrenaline fill his body, he wanted to believe it was true, so much. Could it be? The pack, and Stiles, startled at his outburst. Isaac's eyes narrowed, then widened. 'Are you doing what I think you're doing?' his face seemed to ask as he took in Scott's ridge body, alert posture, his body leaning forward intently. He turned his gaze on Derek, as if expecting to see a change. "I can't hear over you… over all of you" Scott said, softly, straining his ears. Boyd hugged Erica closer to him, and Erica tightened her grip on his arm. He could hear their efforts to calm their pulses, as he could also hear their hearts beating faster with the excitement and suspense of the moment. It wasn't going to get any better than this, Scott realized, leaning forward even more. He closed his eyes, relying solely on his ears, his hearing strained to his full capacity as it tried to pick one, possibly faint, heartbeat, out of five pounding ones. Everyone held their breath and waited, as Scott listened.

_Thump thump,_

_Thump thump_

_Xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xx~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~xX_

**The End**

_***Not entire proud with this chapter, but, whatcha gunna do? Or rather, what am I going to do? Time to move on, to other stories. Hope you enjoyed this**_** one***** =)**


End file.
